Of Mortal Passions and Immortal Love
by xentrya
Summary: Another version of "You are there"...Yes, Xena gave Ares the golden apple meant to make him Immortal again, but was that all there was to it?
1. Thor's Hammer

**DISCLAIMER: I own nothing...I wish I had Ares though...**

**So guys, this is the first chapter of a longer story- not too long though, since I'm still working at "In the Beginning there was War" which proved to be quite a challenge...I hope you enjoy it and if it can put a smile on your faces, that's even better:) Reviews are highly appreciated:) **

Some would say it happened because Love was absent from the world...Some would blame it all on Xena's slashing absence from his life...A mediocre writer might think it was the solitude and the demeaning incapacity of facing those ironic twists of faith any longer...

The truth is that Ares was tired of it all: the cold lonely nights, the constant feeling that he didn't belong into that world, that annoying lack of superhuman strength and magical powers, the bothering, hardly controllable thirst to spill some real blood for a change-not only animal blood in the attempt to cool off his irrational agitation ( plus, he was running out of chickens terribly fast)...And to top it all he was beyond bored...he desperately needed to have some fun, a distraction of some sort-meant to completely disconnect his brain from that unnatural mess he had somehow- it was still unclear to him despite the obvious- managed to drag himself into ...

These are pretty much the reasons for which, during that hot, dusty afternoon, the former God of War, half naked and stinking of booze, was seeking spiritual refuge, in no other place than the village's flourishing Bordello...

**XXX**

"Gimme another one!" he briefly ordered to the super dimensional lady who was generously filling the space between the wall and the counter , a look of utter indifference for everything that was happening around her painted on her face.

In less than seconds, a huge mug of foamy ale was temptingly alluring him with it's flavory aroma.

"That'd be three dinars, Hunk...but for you, I'll make it two and a half..." the guttural voice announced, almost making Ares jump in surprise- just like he actually did the first time he heard it...

He limited his reaction at grinning widely in the direction of the human whale that was clumsily trying to establish some sort of primal, emotional connection by coquettishly batting her eyelashes at him.

The speed with which he knocked back that incredibly tasty fermented liquid took even him by surprise, let alone his newly declared number one fan...Had he heard the woman's line in advance, that beer would have most probably ended into his lungs rather than in his stomach where it belonged...

"Wow! Your lips must have been desert dry...I could help you with that you know..." she said, provokingly bending over the counter so that the Stud of her dreams could have a better look at her fat, sweaty, low hanging boobs...

Suddenly, for the completely repulsed War God, the desire to be able to vomit had never been so urgent in his entire immortal existence.

"...This is an image that will certainly haunt me for the rest of my mortal days" he mumbled beneath his breath while placing the empty mug on a nearby table.

"What's that you said, Handsome?"

A high pitched yell, disturbingly grazing his eardrums, saved him the trouble of having to provide an answer...He was forever in the debt of that irritating but totally welcomed voice...The one who owned it had secretly become his super hero:

"Calling no 27! One Thor's Hammer! T'll make you feel like the God of Thunder!"

"27! Yo'! I got 27!" he rushed to howl back, hastily leaving the premises, without daring to at least lurk back at the impressive Colossus guarding the bar , a look of unspeakable relief washing over his eyes as if he were straying away from Medusa herself, most likely aware that one brief gaze was all it took to turn him into stone...

Soon, he was skillfully making way through that degrading crowd of desperate in need for a fuck, horribly stinking losers that were waiting their turn to get...pretty much was he was after...a few minutes of pure bliss.

In a hurry as he was, it was no wonder that he almost missed the tall lady patrolling before the door leading to the chambers with a ferocity to match Cerberus' while guarding the gates of the Underworld.

" Whoa There Big Fella' ...Where do you think you're going?" she gravely inquired, pushing him back with a rough tug, thus making him stop dead in his tracks...

As if waking up from a dream , Ares unglued his eyes from the floor and looked upwards...

"Oh goody...Whale number two..." he mumbled unintelligibly, noticing the impressive size of the one standing like a column before him...She was far from being as massive and chunky as the first one but she was obviously fighting with all her mortal strength to get there..._" They must have made a bet or something...who reaches the tone first..." _he added into his mind while waving the ticket in the lady's face.

" I'm no criminal! I'm just trying to get laid for Zeus' sake! 27, see? ! "

"Aha...So...some details first..." came the totally unexpected line that made Ares really direct all his available attention at her now.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know about girls...How do you like'em ?"

There were a few seconds of silence, with the impatient gorilla staring absently at the old clock ticking on the wall and with the God doing his best to understand the sense of the question.

"Time is money Hunk! So...how do you like the girls?"

"Oh!" Ares exclaimed when something inside his brain finally clicked..."Well...I've always had a thing for the dark, mysterious type...They should be independent, stubborn, definitely a bit ironic ...wild...and they should have that steely gaze that makes the blood boil you know...?"

"What are you a traveling Bard or something? I was talking about the hair! Brunettes, blonds, redheads...what should it be? "

Ares couldn't help that noisy gulp that hardly managed to find it's way down his throat...Despite having bitten his tongue hard, the phrase did leave his mouth as it was first intended:

"A raven haired one would do..."

" Hey Thadeus!" she screamed again from the top of her lungs, her wide open mouth giving the God the one in a lifetime chance to see the traces of her half rotten- half missing teeth. "Is Najera available?"

"No!" came the monosyllabic answer that proved just the amount of interest that the man had in the business.

"How 'bout Dereenis?"

"No!" the voice announced again, making sure to add this time " Leah or Kareen only "

"We only have two blonds ready to shake it, Stud! "

Ares shrugged his shoulders, unable to hide his displeasure though.

"Ok...I guess a bit of change never hurt anyone...I'll take them both..." he firmly announced, placing a couple of dinars in the woman's hand.

"Aren't you the savage one!" his interlocutor managed to state in between waves of laughter. "Well...room no 4 it is then...Just get in there and make yourself comfortable... The girls will be there shortly!"

With a visibly more agile and cocky pace, Ares entered the room, throwing himself on the bed as soon as he gave a quick scan to the place. Nothing special: just some dusty old furniture , a couple of veryyyyyy abstract paintings decorating the walls, and... his belt- which he had distractedly discarded on the wooden floor...

In the attempt to relax and enjoy the moment, partially anxious about the prospect of finally doing something worthwhile and partially slapped by the subtle remorse of cheating a certain dark haired Warrior Princess that he was stubbornly trying to put off his mind, Ares casually placed his hands beneath his head, while fighting with himself to focus his thoughts on the Kamasutra positions that he was eager to experiment with the two hot, wanton babes that were supposed to give him an unforgettable ride to the Elysian Fields and back. .

"I sure hope they're twins..." he said to himself, and instantly, a large, mischievous smile rushed to stretch the corners of his lips.

Hardly had he finished his phrase that he heard the unmistakable sound of the door cracking open...It was party time...

Without bothering to look towards the captivating silhouette standing just a few feet away from him, he simply uttered on that low sexy tone that he just knew it had a lethal impact on the ladies, anytime, anywhere:

"...So, tell me Cuties, have you ever seen Thor's hammer in action?"

There was a weird pause before the answer came. When it did come though, his heart almost jumped out of his ribcage as his features twisted in shock and shame, an expression pretty similar to the "I'm screwed" one settling on his face, in perfect accordance with his now defensive body posture.

" Yeah...I'm about to smack you in the head with it!"

"Xe...Xena?!"


	2. Think of the kids

"Xe...Xena? What are you doing here?!" the God somehow managed to articulate while staring panic- stricken at the impressive figure standing in the door way.

"What are YOU doing here?" the slashing echo of his own question returned –as if to test his inventiveness- with the accuracy of a boomerang, and Ares could literally sense the abrasiveness of her words grazing mercilessly the surface of his skin...He didn't dare take a peek , but he could swear that he could feel blood dripping down his chest...

"I asked you first..." he replied in a small, childlike voice, his eyes glued to her murderous gaze as if he had before him none other than Charon himself- from a totally new, mortal perspective of course.

He didn't even realize that he had in fact completed that sentence with a less challenging answer the moment the Warrior Princess took a very menacing step in his direction, not until he observantly detected the rising anger in her voice, anyway.

"I was... **resting**..."

"Resting?...In a **brothel**...?"

"Is that what it is?! Imagine that! " he exclaimed in his farmer like tone, trying to sound funny and playful but failing miserably to his much dismay...He hismelf could immediately sense the ridiculously terrible disguised nervousness of his voice : "To think that I actually believed it to be an Inn ..."

An intentionally fake smile forced it's presence upon Xena's lips, giving her the appearance of a driven mad Fury...

The God swallowed mechanically while he defensively dragged his tensed body a few inches towards the middle of the bed as if wanting to put more distance between the rabid looking Warrior and his bunny like figure...

"This is definitely not going to have a happy ending..." he murmured, his lips still parted to say something, when, right out of the blue, an absolutely stunning blonde entered the room, wearing nothing but a red, tight, transparent negligee that left nothing to imagination...Another one soon followed, dressed in a pretty similar outfit, but considerably shorter- if a degree of comparison could be actually used, given those few insignificant inches of fabric "covering" their skin.

"Hi there Big Boy!" they both uttered in the same key...

It's useless to say that by that time, Ares' tongue was literally mopping the floor in excitement, a quite impressive quantity of saliva dripping from his wide open mouth.

"Hello!" he purred on the deepest, sexiest note he could produce while unconsciously clutching the grey sheet beneath him as hard as he could, the disturbing reality of Xena's presence there being obviously completely overshadowed by those two sex bombs licking their lips in anticipation, aware of what was to follow.

"No 27, right? "

"27! That's me! " he responded with such speed and passion that it almost left him breathless.

The sound of a barely controlling her temper Warrior Princess, who was now warningly clearing her throat, made him reconsider his statement though.

Consequently, another prompt but clumsy reply soon burst out of his chest, and way before he even voiced it, the God was dead sure that his bitterly amusing lack of self conviction was about to bring a looooot of physical pain , despite his best efforts to avoid it.

The macho gesture of flexing his pecks was not about to help his cause either...He did it nonetheless, struggling a bit- just for effect- to somehow make it fit that long-suffering tone on which his following line forcefully rolled it's content off his tongue.

"I mean n...no...There must be a mistake!"

"Nonsense...!" one of the girls rushed to contradict him. "You're the only tall, dark, yummy stranger around here...It's you!"

"Definitely!" the other one said, playing with a long, fair tress- falling artistically down her shoulder- while approaching that overly tempting miracle laying on the bed, just a few steps away. "We know you wanted a brunette, but blondes are sooo much better in bed, I can guarantee it!"

"I can only guess..." he murmured in a trembling voice, entranced by the virtual images playing tag inside his mind, barely able to keep his gaze away from their full breasts and painfully directing it towards Xena instead.

"Sure thing, Handsome, and that's a fact!" her companion added while laying on the bed beside him, and before Ares could even realize what they were doing, one had slowly began to caress his chest while the other was undoing his pants.

"You'll see for yourself pretty soon..." a hot whisper landed on his lips, richly stained with so many nasty promises of an unforgettable afternoon together, that, making the God wanna abandon himself completely to their undeniable charm had turned into a piece of cake for the dreamlike blonds.

Thus, it was no wonder that their insinuating last remark made Ares draw in a sharp breath- right before casting a somehow apologetic look towards the visibly on the verge of exploding Warrior Princess who for the two girls seemed to be absolutely invisible- that is.

To tell you the truth, they were so excited about the new toy they had before them, that someone else's presence in the room held no significance what so ever. They were deliberately and rudely ignoring the uninvited guest, so to speak.

"I'm in Tartarus!"

"Ok, that's enough!" the Warrior's commanding tone rushed to announce the end of the party.

Ares' expression instantly changed into the one of a hungry, cruelly beaten dog.

"Who's this?" the girls finally questioned as if having just realized that there was indeed someone else sharing the same space with them.

"_Oh, nobody..." _the God said to himself, wishing from all of his heart to have the nerve to say it out loud...He could but dream at such type of ultimate boldness and soul liberation though...

"His wife!" Xena barked, giving them all "the look".

Ares froze. The moment after, he arched an eyebrow...**His wife**...that was new!

The girls on the other hand were totally unimpressed, on the contrary. It took less than three seconds for a new idea to hit them straight in the brain, like a lightening bolt.

"Oh! Nastyyyyyyy!" one of them exclaimed.

"We can do sandwiches!" the other continued as if having read her mind, eagerly grabbing a firm hold of Ares' cock , thus eliciting a loud, longing moan from his behalf.

An unspoken line went from his pleading eyes towards his dangerously looking Chosen.

"_Can we, can we? "_

Still, he didn't seem as surprised as one might have expected when the two blonds literally discovered they could fly their way out the door, even without wings... One of them fell on her knees in the process, casually exposing everything that Ares longed to see...He was unable to restrain a deep sigh of disappointment.

The instant the dark haired Warrior's laser like glare turned back at him, drilling a whole straight through his heart though, he barely found the energy needed to mutter, clutching a pillow in between his strong, muscular arms as hard as he could, a look of utter terror in his eyes as if he were more than aware of what she had in store for him.

"Xena, Honey...think of the kids!"


	3. Strumming my pain with your fingers

In but a matter of seconds, lines such "**Aouch!", " Not the butt!"** **, "Come on Xena, that would leave a mark!" **and **"I didn't do anything, they were the ones who came to me, you saw it yourself ! " ** could be heard bursting from the physically abused God's lungs, lines that weren't of any aid really, since they didn't seem to be doing a very good job in melting the Warrior Princess' anger, on the contrary, with any idiotic phrase uttered, she seemed to be putting a bit more passion into those mother like smacks ...

...Mortal as he was, she could have easily beaten the crap out of him, and that was a fact-heck she used to slap him silly even when he was a God, let alone now that his energy and his strength were not unlimited anymore- but somehow she couldn't get herself to do it...She was most likely aware that she had no right to reproach him anything in the first place, after all, she was the one who chose to leave him all alone like that, weeks ago...

Still, as always, Ares was being Ares...He just had to add a little incentive...He would have obviously felt out of character otherwise...

Thus, the very instant his beautiful, fire spitting Princess finally appeared to have cooled off, partially releasing all that bottled up frustration and jealousy, he went ahead and pushed the wrong button, again:

"So, uh...now that you're feeling better and all, could we...you know...pick up from where the girls left off...?" he inquired with a devious grin, arching an eyebrow at the marvelous sight of her still temptingly rising and falling chest under the irregular breaths she was deeply inhaling and exhaling.

A rough punch in the nose sent him flying back on the bed, and for once during that torrid afternoon, Xena finally felt at peace for a couple of moments.

Ares on the other hand...he was doing his mortal best to deal with the new health problem that was menacing his very existence.

"Xena! I'm bleeding!" he suddenly yelled- horrified about the implications- while carefully covering his nose with both of his hands in the attempt of preventing what in his mind was surely about to develop into some sort of lethal hemorrhage.

"Good!" her answer hit him like a tone of boulders right before she turned his back at him, in complete disinterest of his fate.

"Am I gonna die?!" he questioned in a high pitch voice that- he couldn't help thinking- sounded strikingly similar to the one of the fat woman guarding the chambers...

The idea itself gave him the chills.

"I sure hope so!" the Warrior barked back while storming out the door, an "I'm gonna kill someone" expression painted savagely on her face. Her tensed jaw and those tightly pressed lips came to complete the frightful message.

A low growl of exasperation could be heard leaving the War God's throat...By all Olympus, he hated chasing after women...He had always been a man of solid principles, and the very popular "There are plenty of fish in the sea" had always been on top of his morals list...Somehow though, ever since that cunning minx had impetuously barged into his life, nothing seemed to make sense anymore...She had successfully managed to mess everything up for him...

As always, he found himself running after her like a sick puppy, pushing himself beyond limits to keep up with her, and though at one point the utter ridicule of the situation made him almost wanna give up and just let her take off, his heart begged for him to follow her trail...

As hilarious as it may have sounded or looked, the dark, masochistic Ares simply refused to swim through that worthless ocean of life without her constantly breathing against his nape.

"Hey, Xe, wait up! Where are you goin'?"

Her answer was as suggestive as one could get:

"None of your damn business!"

"Well you still haven't told me why you were looking for me." he insisted, considerably rushing his pace to catch up with her.

There was no response this time. He was getting worried.

They were quite far from the bordello by now, and to all appearances, the Warrior was heading for the woods.

"Princess come on! If this is about those girls, there's no need for you to be jealous or anything...I was just playing around, trying to have some fun, I don't even like blonds..." he kept pressing while grabbing her arm to turn her around and make her face him...- a mistake as huge as the pits of Tartarus may I point out, given the unbearably painful kick in the groin that the fuming Xena generously offered as accurately as he had taught her to, many years back, respecting all professional standards required by such violent but spectacular performance...Needless to say that he was now deeply regretting his uninspired past decision...

"Was that really necessary?" he barely articulated, caressing the brutally treated area with the tip of his trembling fingers as if trying to diminish the agonizing suffering traveling up and down his now unnaturally swollen cock.

"You've been asking for it, haven't you?!"

"You must have misunderstood my intentions..."

"And you must have misunderstood mine!"

"Maybe..." he muttered while doing his very best to restrain that low moan of ultimate pain from escaping his sealed lips, saving himself the shame of appearing even weaker in her eyes.

" ...but still..." he continued while rising from the ground, straightening up with a superhuman effort that consumed most of his remaining energy. "I know jealousy when I see it, and you my dear are beyond..."

"Are you suicidal?" she slashing line cut him off , making him shake his head vigorously when, firmly grabbing the collar of his peasant like shirt with one hand and his throbbing shaft with the other, she drew him closer to her, so close that the God could feel her hot breath warming up his lips.

A bitter, twisted kind of smile brightened his features a bit... If it hadn't been for the unpleasant presence of that ripping pain, the whole situation would have been incredibly arousing for him...

" Now...if you still have any intentions of ever fucking again in this life, I strongly suggest you drop the subject and leave me alone!"

He had no other choice but submit to her threatening command.

"Ok..."

Glaring daggers at him once more she turned around to leave. She was definitely not in the mood for friendly chit chat.

"Would you at least tell me where you're goin'?" he yelled at her while she was walking away from him.

"There's something I need to find out, I'll pass by your place after dark. We'll talk then "

Ares could easily detect that business like tone of her voice. He had never hated it as much as he did that very then.

"I'll be waiting for you! " he responded on a high enough note so that she could hear it. "Just like I've always had..." he slowly continued, swallowing hard at the realization...

A heart breaking feeling of sadness was beginning to wash over his heart again, just like it did the moment she took off with the Blond Bard that day, heading towards the sunset, leaving him behind like a stray dog...

He blinked rapidly a couple of times, trying to repress the stingy tears that were forming on the surface of his eyes from gliding down his face...He was definitely not going to cry because of her again...

It was useless though...They fell anyway, regardless of his brave decision...It hurt like shit and there was nothing he could do to stop them...


	4. Maybe tomorrow

Fighting with physical pain and with the demeaning reality of his now humble, laughable condition was one thing...Having to deal with that continuous degradation of his soul each and every time she pungently rejected his love-despite his heroic efforts to mend their relationship - was another ...

Tartarus knew, he had asked himself more than once if he even had a soul left...Maybe there was nothing there any more. Maybe she had drained even the last ounce of divinity out of him and now there was nothing but a whole where that shining ball of energy had once stood...He often felt as if there was just raw flesh left in the middle of his chest and with every failed encounter, with every "no" , with every new denial of their bond, the acid of her words would pour down, melting everything of value...This time, the harshness of her tone along with that crushing amount of contempt in her eyes, made him feel yet another burn...on his heart...

He walked away that day...away from her, just as she had walked away from him on so many occasions...He didn't look back- towards the trees where he knew she had disappeared like a shadow- and then again, he didn't look forward...He just allowed his legs to carry him somewhere...it didn't really matter where, as his mind didn't have the power to command them any more...

He was staring at the ground instead, as if searching for something, as if searching for answers...Apart from grass, dirt and animal footprints he was unable to find any.

It was close to sunset when he returned to the village...As soon as his eyes finally left the empty, dusty road, he realized it had began to rain...Cold, tiny drops of water falling from the sky...He looked up, as if he were witnessing the common phenomena for the first time...Leaden, heavy clouds had covered the late afternoon sky, like dark, angry dragons, biting and tearing apart the remaining sun...In but a matter of minutes there was nothing left out of it...

"Well don't just stand there, Handsome! You might catch a cold, you know! These summer rains are the trickiest thing Zeus has ever created, I can give you that! They may seem like a blessing from the Gods at first, but they can sure put even the strongest man down with a fever for weeks and Fates know it would be a real shame for Celesta to fall in love with you so soon, when you still have so much life bouncing inside ya'! Come on in, you haven't finished that beer! "

Only then did Ares realize that he was back at the Bordello again...He couldn't tell when and how he had arrived there, but there he was... and to top it all, in the doorway, inviting him in, stood no one else but his lovely admirer Whale No 1, the bartender..

" _It was probably her blocking the Sun in the first place..." _he couldn't help thinking, minutes later while sipping that unfinished mug of ale, his gaze absent and his head strategically propped by his hand in a pose that was supposed to tell right about everything on human suffering and torturous deceptions...

"So...I can tell it didn't go well..." the woman began to speak, a look of utter compassion in her eyes.

The God just fixed her with musing eyes as if he were unaware of what she was talking about...

"...Your wife, finding you in this place...'Must have been quite a scandal..." she added, in the attempt to clarify the subject for him. "Scandals...Gods know I've seen more than my share since I've been working here- a lifetime, that is" she added with a sigh.

"...Entertainment does make the business flourish..." Ares mumbled just to make conversation while his thoughts were already beginning to escape the iron grasp of his mind, drifting towards happier moments shared with his Warrior Princess instead...But that was back when he was a God, when he could lay the world at her feet and when it only took a heartbeat to be by her side, even when she didn't want him there...He tried to shake the memories away...Didn't work...

The lady's guttural voice did the trick for him though...

"...Call that entertainment? You've seen nothing yet... You can thank the Fates she didn't stab you in the heart with something, just like Leiah did with Theocles two weeks back...That woman was a savage one...But he deserved it too, can't say he didn't...It was a bloodbath..."

" And they say Love is gentle, kind and forgiving !...Ha! What a joke! Love needs human sacrifices, in order to survive...A monster in disguise, that's what love is ...a soulless beast that feeds on intense feelings and vain hopes! "

"Aren't you the broken hearted one, Hunk! Here, have another!" the woman said with a grin, filling his mug. "...It's on the house!"

"Thanks..." Ares uttered taking a long, greedy sip. "It's exactly what I needed..."

"Well, you know what they say...one can only cure a love wound with alcohol and obnoxious sluts... What you need is a woman...maybe a bit different in kind... a strong woman that could help you forget, that could lead you to ecstasy faster than..." the rest of the human Whale's answer failed to reach the God's ears though as he became way to busy with trying to regain his breath... Choking with beer was definitely not fun, especially not when he could feel it descend through his nostrils...

A couple of rough slaps on his back brought him to his senses, and, despite the temporary blurred vision of his red, injected eyes, he could tell that it was from underneath the woman's unbelievably hairy and sweaty armpit that repulsive, rancid stench was coming from...

For a moment there he actually thought he was going to faint...That disgusting odor made it impossibly though...There was no way in Tartarus he could afford to loose consciousness in those conditions...

"You ok, Handsome? "

"Do I look ok to you?!" he burst out , a look of utter desperation embedded on his face.

Another full force, aggressive slap-seemingly given by Hades himself- was all it took for the lifesaving miracle of spitting out the remaining beer to happen, the sight of the God's eyes looking as if they were about to pop out of his head creating the bemusing image of some cartoon character Ares couldn't possibly know about...Still, he did feel like one-without actually being aware of that association either...

"You look more than ok, Champ...You look like...a God..." she ecstatically replied while grabbing a firm hold of one of his steely ass cheeks.

Ares squealed in both surprise and pain.

"Hey! That's sexual abuse, lady! "

"Not where I come from...They usually call it **"rough encounter" **there**...** You sure seem like the type to appreciate such delightful treatment..."

A moment later, he was storming for the door.

"I really need some air..."

In but a matter of seconds, the ex Olympian was hanging down the porch, face down, throwing up whatever it was that he ate that day...He couldn't clearly remember if he ate at all, but according to the dark, brownish color of that still partially solid stuff exploding from within him, he involuntarily judged that there must have been some animal meet- of some kind- involved...

The unfortunate act of smelling his fresh, sickening, "home and tavern made production", caused him to vomit again of course. This time though he really had the impression that his entire stomach was about to be spitted out along with a lung or some other expandable organ...

"This is definitely not healthy..."he mumbled while doing the impossible to regain some control over his body.

"You know, Mom always said that drinking has never done anyone any good..."

Ares blinked a couple of times before looking around to find the source of that ever so counseling voice. When he was unable to find it, he just blame it all on his pitiable condition...He was hearing things...

"I guess this is part of the fun!" he said to himself aloud, letting out a nervous, silly laugh which finished with taking in another deep breath of fresh evening air..."I almost forgot how terribly wrong it felt...I'm sure gonna regret it even more in the morning."

"Well...given the way you look now, I'd certainly choose another way to have fun if I were you..."

This time, the God's gaze scrutinized the place with considerably more attention... Needless to say he almost had a heart attack when he noticed a seven years old kid standing like a live statue behind him...

His skin was olive in color and his hair dark...He did have a sweet, innocent smile painted on his lips though, and to Ares' bemusement he was just inches above his belt in size...

"Maybe next time you should try playing **"Hercules and the bad guys" ... **I always do that when I'm bored..."

Ares couldn't help but sneer mockingly...As expected, rolling his eyes in exasperation was part of the reaction.

"Already tried that a couple of times kid. Didn't work...Plus, after awhile any trick gets old if you know what I mean..."

The child looked at him in wonder...He obviously didn't have a clue what the stranger was talking about...Getting bored of playing "Hercules"?! That was a new one...

Ares quickly managed to decipher the source of that long, questioning look...

"Never mind..." he responded, shifting his gaze towards the horizon...He was definitely not in the mood for friendly conversation anyway...

The boy seemed to think otherwise though...

"So...why have you been drinking? "

The God just threw him a curious look while stretching his sore muscles a bit.

"I was thirsty" the brief and totally unsatisfactory line was supposed to let the child know that pushing his buttons was not really an option.

"That's hardly a reason! " the boy firmly protested, getting closer to him as if wanting to get a better look at his new friend. "Mom always said that men drink either to forget some unfulfilled love or to cope with some kind of loss..."

The God arched an eyebrow absently.

"So..." the boy continued

"So...?" Ares echoed soon after.

"What is it then? Love or loss?"

"What are you some kind of miniature shrink or something?" the God snapped on a wounded beast type of tone.

"Love, then...! . Just like I suspected..." the child observed, the timid shade of an all knowing smile brightening up his features. "Women... can't live with them and sure can't live without them..."

" I take it that's something your Father always said...?" Ares tried to rally, with no real success nonetheless , since the child couldn't actually understand the subtlety of his comment.

"No...that was Mom, again..."

"Your Mother is a wise woman..."

"Yeah..." the child whispered, shifting his gaze towards the ground, a reaction that Ares caught within a blink, just like he did with the sight of that dark purple mark beneath his left eye.

"What happened to your eye? 'Got into a fight or something? "

"Yeah, sort of..." the boy muttered hesitantly, rubbing his hands nervously.

"Well kid, my Mom always said that sharing your favorite toy with the others isn't necessarily a bad thing...as long as the toy returns to you..."

There was silence for a few moments.

"I was trying to protect my Sister..." he finally murmured staring back at Ares, infinite sadness in his eyes.

The God frowned. He was right about to say something too, when, right out of nowhere a feminine voice cut him off, making him turn around instantly.

"Iason! There you are! I've been looking all over for you!"

A girl was heading for them. Not very tall either, dark curly hair, rather skinny...She must have been around twelve.

"I was talking to my friend here..."

"How many times have I told you not to talk to strangers, huh? It's dangerous Iason..."

"Well he's not dangerous, he's a good person, he has love problems and I am old enough to take care of myself!"

"Hey! I don't have love problems, kid!" the God burst out in revolt.

"Yes you do!"

"Do not!"

"Do too!"

Ares finally stopped realizing how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Are you done for tonight, Najera?" the boy's crystalline voice broke the silence once more, and one could tell that he was beyond concerned.

The girl just nodded silently, the words refusing to come out.

"Did they hurt you?" the next question soon followed, leaving Ares speechless.

It was then that he finally took a good look at the young girl standing by his side. Her lower lip was visibly swollen, her face was flushed and there were fresh bruises on her neck and wrists. She was still shaking and one didn't had to be an expert to tell that she had been crying...

"Why would they hurt me, Ison? No, of course not!" she reassured her Brother with a faked smile.

"Did they love the dance?"

"They sure did..." she answered on a strangled voice.

The God could read between the lines though. And judging by the girl's appearance, he could bet on his life that the clients weren't quite satisfied with " the dance".

"Was it the same one that Mom taught us? The one that we performed together during the Pyanopsion Festival?"

"That's the one...Now let's get goin', it's late and you need to go to sleep . Say goodbye to your friend..."

"You didn't tell me your name..." the boy complained, redirecting his attention towards the now pensive War God.

"Well you didn't ask..."

"I'm Iason!" his little friend exclaimed, extending a hand that Ares squeezed in delight.

"Ar...thes..."

"Arthes? What kind of name is that?"

"A... Corinthian name...I was named after my grandfather..." Ares replied trying no to sound too troubled.

"Ok...so I'll se you around..."

"Sure thing..." the God replied absently again, as the child took his Sister's hand and turned his back to leave.

He couldn't help overhearing though the following lines of their dialogue...He sure wished he hadn't...

"Did you make any money, Najera...?"

"Enough so that we can both eat tonight and in the morning..."

"How about the herbs for Mom? The doctor said that's the only way the fever will break..."

"Maybe tomorrow..."

And then there was silence...A long, slashing silence that literally crushed Ares' chest with an unspeakably heavy burden...

By the time the child spoke again, two hot tears were rolling down his cheeks:

"We should prey to Athena tonight before we go to sleep...Even if we don't have anything to bring as sacrifice, maybe she would help after all..."

"It wouldn't hurt to try..." his Sister's answer came, leaving a bitter taste behind once it left her lips...It was the same bitter taste that the God felt while hearing her words...

"That Bitch is long dead..." Ares murmured to himself on the lowest of tones...


	5. Storm clouds

By the time Ares got home, the moon was generously bathing the trees in some sort of a pale, mystical light that painfully reminded him of his log forgotten temples….Not that he would have had the stomach to admit it to anyone- the idea itself sounding as ridiculous and foolish as a Hydra taking part to a Beauty Pagent – but the warm light of the candles decorating his every sanctuary had always fascinated his immortal eyes….Until the moment Xena came into the picture, that image was pretty much the only one that could provide to some extent a certain impression of constancy and comfort- two vectors that were usually missing from his empty, lonely life-call it his personal safe heaven if you will….

Another brief glance towards the infinity of the now quiet celestial sphere –the same one that just a few years back held no meaning what so ever to him- and a heavy sigh escaped his lungs….The rain had stopped falling and that maddening wind had ceased it's roar but most of the leady storm clouds were refusing to leave. They were just standing there clutching like gargoyles to that marvelously painted vault on which Selene and her shining Sisters should have been resting….

Ares' mind was suddenly assaulted by the idea that he had never taken the time to admire his ancestor's creation properly….Now, when he was finally in this poetic** / **artistic mood to do it, there was nothing to see but a pitch black blanket , poorly lightened by a few moon rays.

….The world was a strange place- one that he was slowly discovering or rather one that was becoming gradually willing to reveal it's secrets to him….But what was even stranger was the fact that, despite that inner turmoil grinding his soul to pieces, he could feel a distinct type of peace shrouding his heart, efficiently numbing worries and troubled thoughts.

Right out of nowhere, her slashing voice broke everything inside him again in less than a second though:

"Taking the long way home?"

He flinched. He hadn't even noticed her dark silhouette haunting like a ghost the old, creaky porch…-but he could instantly detect the sarcasm reverberating from her tone.

He tried to act as if he didn't care, as if her presence didn't make all the difference in the world…Still, the sadness of his voice quickly gave him away….

"Yeah, something like that"

The next line exchange was overly laconic and pungent, each one seeming to defend some invisible border behind which enormous stashes of hurt pride and still convalescenting ego was stored. Verbally attacking the " enemy " was the perfect technique to do it.

"Were have you been?"

"Do you actually care?"

"No "

"You shouldn't ask then. "

"I was just trying to make conversation"

"That would be a first."

"I thought I heard you say that you'll be waiting for me, that's all….I logically assumed you'd be already here…"

"I am now…" he retorted while passing her by without searching for the azure mirror of her moons, and heading for the door instead. When he entered, his feet felt heavy…it was as if he were dragging two marble blocks instead of bones…

He hardly refrained from asking her to come in…She followed him anyway and took a seat on a rocking chair close to the fireplace …There were no flames though and she was soaking wet…She had obviously been without shelter while the storm had hit the area…

Ares arched an eyebrow….water was dripping from her long raven locks and her skin was all covered with goose bumps…She was cold….

"Sorry, I have no wood….I was supposed to cut some in the morning…I got uh …caught up with other things though and I forgot…"

The Warrior Princess's disgusted sneer was unexpectedly vaporized by the rest of the God's line:

" ….Memory leaks….one of the priceless advantages of earthly life….Mortality is finally growing on me…"

"…Mortality **and **self pity…" she made sure to bite while forcing the water out of her hair , successfully masking a frown right before Ares fixed her with his stare. ….Under the dim glow of the candle light, he would have failed to read her reaction anyway….

He absently began to search for something inside an old but skilfully craved board chest.

Her gaze cleverly concealed by the silky tresses falling down her face, the Warrior Princess was studying his every move. When curiosity finally gave her patience the final blow, she inquired timidly:

"What are you looking for?"

He refused to reply. Nonetheless, about a minute later he threw her a woolen, dark cappuccino dress. He had no idea if it would fit her or not….at the moment the thought didn't even cross his mind.

"What's this ? "

"You should change your leathers. Sleeping all soggy like that wouldn't do you any good."

"Who said anything about staying for the night? I just came to talk and I'll be on my way…I have stuff to do early in the morning…."

"You always have stuff to do early in the morning" he answered while casually removing his dripping blouse and throwing it on the backrest of a chair. "…I don't know why I bothered asking…." the rest of the phrase was hissed- on a very displeased tonality this time -while he was heading for the bedroom, again without as much as looking at her, as if she were some unimportant, painted mural or something.

She couldn't help grabbing his arm, swiftly turning him around the instant she understood what he was doing, completely outraged by his crappy behavior.

"Did you actually think that after today's scene I'd come here and let you fuck me as if nothing happened? "

"What scene?" he calmly interrogated, his jaw clenching instantly as soon as the words left his mouth.

She simply let the woolen dress fall at his feet as she started walking towards the door. She had always hated making use of too many words, especially when it was not the case...

"Still feeling like you're the offended one, huh? Don't tell me: that cube of ice you have floating inside your chest instead of a proper heart melted the moment you saw a couple of hoes straddling me…? That's a classic! …..Just like the one in which the woman of my dreams left me like a hurricane, no goodbye kiss, no see ya' later, no nothing…." he thundered, hate and suffering burning like flames in his eyes. "But wait!….Fair's fair, right? …. There was that very strangled **"maybe"- **that you voiced on that sympathetic tone one generally uses when they give a few leftovers to a starving mutt! I should have kept my hopes up and spend the rest of my days imploring the Fates for you to remember my name….my fault there…"

Xena opened the door to leave but stopped in mid step….it was raining cats and dogs outside….


	6. Near future

**This chapter is dedicated to my lovely reviewer, Stardawn 19 :) Thank you so much for your support, your remarks always motivate me to write more:) **

"Whaddya know?! The Universe itself conspires against you! Can't beat that, can you? " he mockingly observed while leisurely taking a seat at the small table- strategically placed near the window, from where, during daytime one could perfectly see all the little nothings that were taking place in the usually half naked neighbor lady's vegetable garden….

Xena just threw him a murderous stare, visibly irritated by his stingy remark. She was obviously fuming and that didn't help much solving the heavy rain problem.

The second she made a gesture to leave though, Ares continued, maintaining the same detached voice as before.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you….A sick Warrior is a useless Warrior remember? And judging by the weather outside you wouldn't be feeling too peachy for the next couple of days if you foolishly decide to become one with the nature…." he pressed, taking a huge, prophetical bite out of a juicy, yummy looking apple.

"What are you the damn Oracle of Delphi now?" she growled disturbed by the perspective of being actually forced to spend the night in his home.

"Well…. Given the fact me and Pythia go a looooooong way back…she kinda taught me a thing or two on predicting the near future among other captivating stuff…."

"So I suppose then that your psychic abilities have already told you that you'll be tongueless soon unless you stop talking!"

A bemused smile made way to Ares' lips. He was getting to her…

"No…they must have skipped that part…but why don't you seat down and give me your hand? You'd be surprised to discover that the future itself reveals it's secrets on the map of your palm…."

The very instant Xena decided to bite his head off, a more interesting idea flashed through her inventive brain though. She cleverly went for playing the game instead and pretty soon she was sitting at the opposite side of the table, her hand gracefully sliding into the God's palm.

"All right War God….let's see what you got…."

Carelessly throwing the apple cob over his head as if he were in the back yard and not inside the place he was currently living, Ares rubbed his hands a couple of times, taking a deep breath before replacing that playful smirk with a totally austere expression, just like a doctor getting ready for some very complicated and risky brain surgery.

"Ok…." He started, narrowing his eyes and pulling the chair a few inches closer to the table. His voice was suddenly transformed by the very mysterious notes poring from the back of his throat to Xena's unexpected amusement.

"Well first of all in order for me to see what's goin' on here, you have to relax , ok….?All that pent up fury is…messing with my aura!"

"What does your aura have to do with the lines in my palm, Ares?"

"Hey! Guessing the future is complicated stuff so don't speak of things that you don't know about!"

The Warrior Princess rolled her eyes before adding a mumbled "Right…"

"Now where were we? And stop interrupting my spiritual activity here or I'll lose the contact!"

"Interrupt what we haven't even started! The contact with whom?"

"Well we would have started if you had let me work my magic! " he hastily retorted, sweetly caressing her palm despite the harshness of his gaze. "With the…**spirits**…or whoever it is that guides me to read your future!"

Xena did her best to restrain from laughing. She had always appreciated the War God's humor but that was….ridiculous….

"Ok….Now…let me focus! " he commanded, closing his eyes for a couple of seconds.

"You won't see anything if you close your eyes, Ares…" she remarked, while involuntarily her eyes lingered wantingly on his lips…He had gorgeous lips…..One had to be blind not to notice…..

" Shtttttt!" he hushed her, frowning a bit as if he were struggling to decipher some weird vision that was rapidly unfolding before his eyes. When he opened them and fixed her palm it was as if he were laser scanning those intricate lines traced on her skin.

"What do you see?" she mocked, arching an eyebrow.

" I see a lot of passion in your near future….A tall dark extremely handsome man will make you loose control…."

"Got that right…" she mumbled beneath her breath, the perspective of smashing his head against the table just for the fun of it becoming more and more alluring.

"See this?" he inquired pointing towards a long straight line seaming her palm.

Xena took a closer look.

"Yeah, what about it?"

"It shows your life span….You'll live a suspiciously long life….Just like the Gods…"

"The Gods are dead, Ares. "

"….before they died…." he mentioned, glaring at her somehow accusingly.

"And let me guess….at some point I will marry the tall dark guy…"

"That's correct….and there would be a lot of sex till the wedding- especially during gloomy, stormy, cold nights…."

"That's a surprise! How about that line over there?"

"Which one?" he questioned curiously, bending a bit over the table so that he could see better. Needless to say, it was the perfect opportunity for Xena to make her move.

"Hey Ares….I can read your future too, you know…"

"Oh yeah? " he inquired absently while his eyes kept scrutinizing her silky palm, wondering if that was the best time to place a soft, romantic kiss on it's surface or not…

"Your nose will bleed soon….."

The next thing the God saw was the wooden surface of the table, quickly approaching his face under the effect of Xena's rough push …..

"Couldn't predict that, could you?" she added, seconds later, while scrutinizing the God's twisted with pain face.

"That was mean…" he complained, gently caressing the now purple tip of his nose…"At least it's not bleeding…"

Hardly had he finished his phrase though, that a fine crimson thread began it's way towards his chin…

"Now we can finally debate other pressing concerns…" the Warrior Princess stated, an overly satisfied grin painted on her visage.

" Don't worry, I'm not the type to hold a grudge…..You can still be on top for the first two rounds if you like. Or…."

"That's very generous of you, Ares, but that's not what I meant. " she slashingly cut him off.

He just looked away, obvious disappointment in his eyes.

"I found a way to give you your godhood back…."

"Oh!"


	7. Games of hearts

"I found a way to give you your godhood back…."

"Oh!"

...

"You don't look very happy…."

There was a brief pause before the God-well...ex God- decided to grace her with an answer.

Xena couldn't help noticing the unusual restraint of his voice as well as that rarely present nervousness-so unlike his caustic, malicious style- but which she could easily detect in those unconsciously balled up fists.

The bitter irony attached to his line was meant of course to rush to the rescue of his impeccable macho image- despite the fact that given that still bleeding nose, not even all the sarcasm in the world could have actually saved the day- His dignity was in a pitiful shape, a state in which only the Warrior Princess was able to bring him…

"Can you blame me? Being a God again, I will be mercilessly forced to part with this dump….Sincerely, I can't bear to imagine how my life will ever go on in the absence of this blessed place….Things will never be the same again…."

Hearing that utterly idyllic speech, Xena just gazed at him for a couple of seconds, lips sealed perfectly in a tight, perfectly straight line….She couldn't actually decide on a particular reaction- whether she was amused by that impeccably articulated, theatrical expose, or enraged by his earth shattering ingratitude…-after all, that was **her** house and that self centered Son of a Bacahe seemed to have turned completely oblivious of the fact that if it hadn't been for her magnanimous help and generosity he would have been still sleeping under some tree in the middle of nowhere….

She wisely decided to retort using that same dose of acrimony and just let him be….She was wet, cold, hungry and tired….Arguing for like hours on some insignificant subject such as that one was definitely not on her agenda that night….

"Who says that being immortal again goes hand in hand with living up on Olympus? You could always built an altar back in the barn….I'm sure the villagers would find your noble gesture close to their hearts…-…..Quite a good way to get close to them too….make some friends….A new, improved, reinvented God of War is definitely what these people need….You could focus more on using mowers , pitch forks and reaping hooks instead of swords, spears and bows….get in touch with your agricultural side more, ya' know? I'm sure you'd be surprised with the result…."

Ares just grinned widely at the subtlety of her vaguely masked allusion.

"You might have a point….Do you think the flute playing chicks would dig that?"

"They'd be ravished…."

"Don't say!..." he energically exclaimed, rising from the chair and heading towards the other side of the table instead, where she was comfortably sitting. To Xena's surprise, he deliberately took a seat on the wooden floor, but inches from her- so close…..so temptingly close.

Without delay, she threw him that trademark "Don't you dare touch me" look...It was of course useless...

The moment his firm but soft hands touched her knees, Ares instantly noticed that ever so predictable dilation of her pupils…His pulse ran wild simultaneously to hers…her skin was burning beneath his palms…..He didn't say anything about it though, he just focused on stopping his fingers-that suddenly appeared to have a will of their own- from advancing towards her inciting thighs…..It also took all of his available strength to control that almost automatic gesture of biting his lower lip- a gesture that he was fully aware he always made whenever he was around her-despite his best efforts to prevent her from seeing each and every time just how much he was craving to kiss her….This time it was no different...He could physically feel that desire building inside him, drawing him like a magnet towards her vibrating body….What was worse about it, was that he could feel her wanting him too….so distinctly, that unmistakable scent that could make him loose his mind any day, entering through his flesh and infiltrating deep into his soul like a demon set on completely possessing his form…

When he spoke, his voice was thick with the viciously repressed hunger to just part her legs and taste her…..

"…..And uh…just what would it take to have you at least as equally ravished and wanting? …"

She did her best to sound detached and convincing…..She failed miserably….Once again, Ares feigned to have missed that little detail, abstaining himself from any misplaced commentary….

"Oh, not much….I'd probably fall for the barn motif too…..I've always been a sucker for that rare and sincere affection that the Olympian flock has for mortals…."

"Am I that lucky…..?" he inquired lowly, fixing her now parted lips quite nonchalantly for her taste, and allowing one of his hands to move an inch- just an inch- upwards, enough to reach the leather edge of her skirt.

The Warrior Princess flinched at that new pressure of his palm….She could deny it as long as she wanted to but she had never longed for a man's touch so much in her life, and she knew it…..That boyish charm of his, she had always considered it way beyond irresistible and she had been literally impelled by unfavorable circumstances and terribly bad timing to trample all over the core of her desires on so many occasions that her brain refused to remember, ceaselessly repeating to her screaming with frustration heart that he was not good for her… That night though, something was different about the whole situation...about him…. Maybe it was that domineering, enthralling look radiating from his dark amber eyes strangely contrasting with that clearly distinguished flicker of hardly veiled emotion…..There was something very human about him…very…mortal like….-something new that she had never expected to see when it came to him….

Her gaze shifted immediately the moment she realized that she had already began loosing that fight, that she was gliding down a deadly slope….deadly for her boundless ego that is…..She couldn't give in….He was far too dangerous…..his passion was contagious…

"No, not really…" she swiftly cut him off on the same steely tone that he was so accustomed with hearing leaving her throat.

...Before he was given the chance to answer, she was already making a gesture to get up…..She desperately needed to put some distance between them, it was vital for her cause...

Ares inhaled furiously. The next thing he knew, he was pushing her back on the chair with an animalistic inclemency, his hands now darting at her waist like vultures on their prey…He could feel the blood boiling inside his veins….He had to have her….

Her violent tug brought him back to reality though….


	8. Bewitching caresses

In spite of the fact that he was more than familiarized with her impulsiveness, the God was taken aback by the harshness of her reaction. What surprised him more though- and he only came to realize it after a whole, long minute was that completely unnatural silence that followed. Given the circumstances, he had expected an entire explosion of rage to be directed his way, something very similar to Vesuvius' deadly eruption, but for some weird, unapprehended reason , the words failed to come out of his Ice Princess' mouth and smash his spirit to smithereens like they usually did…..She just turned her back at him and took a few hesitant steps towards the other side of the room, as if she needed some space…..

Not knowing what on earth could possibly stand for the best approach to fit that unprecedented scenario- any classic pick up line being out of the question that very then- the God clumsily decided to start a conversation of some kind on a theme of common interest….

"So uh….about my godhood…You said you found a way…"

The response to his question was provided with such amazing speed and accuracy that Ares couldn't help thinking that she had been anxiously awaiting the moment for him to ask about none other than that precious piece of information.

"Odin's golden apples…"

Confusion instantly washed over the Olympian's features.

"Apples?! "

" You've heard me…"

"And you have reasons to think that would actually do the trick?"

"Well, they seem to have worked wonders with Odin….."

"Odin?!" he exclaimed, his eyes widening with indignation. " Have you ever taken a good look at the guy?! Even Zeus was better looking than him! "

Sharp daggers were soon thrown from the Warrior Princess' blue moons, hungrily aiming for the overly finical God's throat. She couldn't help wishing she'd smacked him when she got the chance.

"You must be kidding me! "

"Xena! Hallo! Argo eats apples…and Argo is a horse…."

"People eat apples too, Ares…"

"Was it that hard to find some ambrosia? The Amazons must still have some, I can guarantee it…."

"Have you lost your marbles? What's wrong with eating that damn apple?!"

"I don't know….." he whined on a spoiled brat's tone. "It just doesn't sound right….Imagine if the word ever gets out : Ares, God of War became an immortal again by eating a golden apple…..! That's kinda….gay! ….I mean….Snow White did the thing with the apple…"

Throwing him a murderous once over, Xena tried to swallow her fury…..She still couldn't tell if he was serious about it or if he was just playing with her nerves… Nonetheless, whatever it was, it was irking the Tartarus out of her…..

"Anyway…..I'll be leaving in the morning….I have a plan; Just make sure you start praying to any still living and breathing Gods or Goddesses it works…..If everything goes well, you'll be seeing the next sunset from Olympus…." she replied, unable to hold back the sadness reverberating from her voice.

"Amin to that! " Ares' content reply spontaneously broke from his lungs, just to tear his heart heart apart the instant he noticed a barely visible- but present- wave of disappointment washing over his Princess' previously passive visage….Knowing her as he did, he was dead sure that the insignificant intensity of feelings that was barely managing to break the defenses of her masked face and surface for a couple of moments to rest on her perfectly traced features was in fact at least ten times more powerful than the most menacing flood that the world had ever seen, had been….

His sincere enthusiasm had hurt her….He could see it as plain as daylight, and she must have realized her emotional mistake too, cause by the time he advanced towards her, the expression of her face was totally blank again …...

A few more steps and he stopped right in front of her.

"How do you feel about it?" he inquired, searching for her now hollow gaze….

She quickly looked away though, avoiding any direct contact with his soul drilling eyes.

"About?"

She turned around again, now fixing her entire attention on deciphering something, anything in that infinite darkness that had extended it's cloth outside the watery glass of the window….

One more step and soon, he could feel the still wet leather dress and part of her creamy skin pressed against his chest...

She unconsciously closed her eyes the moment she sensed the unbeatable effect of his hot, heavy breath on the side of her neck as he got closer and closer, almost touching her….

"Me… being a God again….Olympus…."

Her body instantly tensed at the awareness of that unavoidable necessity.

"It's the right thing to do…..As you well know, in the absence of War into the world, Love would soon loose it's balance…..Nothing will ever be the same again…."

"That's not what I asked….." he whispered against her ear, allowing his demanding lips to delicately brush her temple in the process….

He couldn't precisely tell at which point she had left her guard down, foolishly choosing to allow her rigid, trembling from to lean into his forever welcoming embrace and he was definitely not sure that he cared to know…..The one and only detail that had the ability of drawing his attention that very then was that subtle perfume of rain still lingering on her long, raven hair and the constantly increasing pulse which he could distinctly feel racing maddingly throughout her veins…

He couldn't help himself….Needless to say that the idea of not touching her felt as impossible as asking the Sun itself not to shine anymore….He was more than addicted to her…she had gradually become his universe, his time, his space, his reason for being….There was no world outside her, why couldn't she see it….?

As soon as his fingers began gliding softly down her arms, she infallibly panicked of course, but way before the idea of escaping his intoxicating nearness even crossed her mind- at least he had the ability to predict that much- Ares was already having her efficiently trapped there, between the icy cold glass and his burning with lust body, his firm hands, cleverly finding a place to rest on each side of the windowsill, cutting her any possibility of retreat.

"What do you want to know Ares? If I'm glad I don't have to live with the thought that you're barely struggling through life as a mortal because of me, any more? That I don't have to constantly wonder if you're watching your back properly, fearing that it would just take a minor slip, a moment of inadvertence and the fatal presence of Fates know what sleazy Warlord to send you to Hades seconds before you get the chance to pick up your sword? Yeah, it's quite a relief!"

"Would it pain you…if that ever happened?"

"It would pain my conscience…" she abrasively retorted glaring at him with feigned indifference over her shoulder, an opportunity that the God obviously seized, smartly using her body posture to capture her lips in what turned to be such a consuming, passionate kiss that he could literally feel her form melting against his own just like pure iron in an overly heated furnace….

"You've always been a terrible liar…." he murmured hoarsely between a few ragged breaths and a brief struggle meant to crush her any resistance ….

Bewitched as she was by his smothering avidity to devour her, the Warrior Princess became completely oblivious by the fact that the God had already unbuckled her armor, and not even the disturbing, resonant noise of her breastplate hitting the ground couldn't break that enthralling spell overpowering her senses…..By the time she forced herself back to reality his skilful fingers were already unfastening her leather tunic…


	9. Let's blame it all on the weather

…You might not believe it, but what actually made her snap out of it was the incredible intensity he had put into their kiss...It felt literally divine...so good that each and every part of her cautious self defense mechanism went ballistic. Consequently, in no time, freeing herself from the invisible ties with which the magic pouring from his lips had managed to bind her soul, the Warrior Princess' behavior swiftly returned to it's old, very much predictable base…

On this occasion though, it's safe to say that the War God was definitely not surprised any more …

Hearing her line, he just rolled his eyes in exasperation-for the fifth time or so, that day-…It was always the same…...By all appearances, his overly analytic Princess was damn adamant about making a habit out of leaving him unsatisfied and frustrated….

"Ares don't….I can't!" her half broken words – spoken evidently on a way too loud and panicked tone for him to ignore - echoed unpleasantly throughout his head like the deafening strokes of a Chinese gong….

He was getting tired, sooo unspeakably tired of her unjustifiable mood swings...This woman was indeed the ultimate embodiment of what one would unmistakably call a pain in the ass-nothing could please her , and Fates knew he had been more patient and understanding with her than he had been with any other woman that he had fucked-and by Hades, they weren't few….

"Why not, Xena? Why ever not? What's holding you back this time?..."

He paused a bit to gather his words before continuing...

" Have you at least found a decent excuse for once ...? Just for the record, being creative has never killed anyone...so..uh... could you please, make the effort to give me something else than the classic "You're bad for me, Ares" line? It' s not that I don't like it- actually, given the fact that I constantly hear it a couple of times a day I think I might have developed some sort of emotional addiction to the phrase- ...it's just that considering the circumstances, it doesn't quite fit any more…..There's not one single drop of dark energy left in me, no seductive, evil power, I have no armies- there goes my " Be my Warrior Queen " line, too- no way to lure you back to the "peace through slaughter" project…So…..come on…..surprise me….."

Xena couldn't believe her ears….He was obviously challenging her, messing with her head, cynically pushing her buttons thus urging her to make a slip, to loose control….

"You're still** you**, Ares….The same soulless, manipulative Bastard who would take advantage of my any weakness no matter how insignificant and do his very best in exploiting it in order to have me do what he wants…That part hasn't change much….."

For a minute there, the God seemed actually hurt by the sharpness of her tongue….Nonetheless, he didn't break eye contact, he couldn't…..He was well aware that the one who did it first, was obviously the soar loser of that freaking mind battle, and he had no intention of loosing that night…..

"Is that what you constantly repeat like a mantra inside that thick little head of yours…?"

Instead of proper answer, she just threw him a disconcerting stare….

"Don't you dare give me that look…! Don't you dare, cause you were trembling with desire in my arms just a few moments ago…And you definitely kissed me with the same eagerness and need as I did…..Why is that Xena? Is it because I'm an egocentric, brain damaged maniac ? You have feelings for me, Gods damn it , couldn't you just accept them for a change and stop hiding behind a finger like a lame coward?"

"Just because I have feelings for you, doesn't mean I also have to act on them!"

"Right….Well…..good luck in keeping them bottled up then. Your reaction when they'll unavoidably blow up in your face will be priceless….I can't but hope and pray for the Fates to gimme a front row seat for such spectacular show…It would be a crime to miss it..."

At that point it was official: Xena hated his guts….As expected, since on the face of the earth there isn't one single soul able to fully appreciate the sky high value of the liberating idea of someone throwing the truth in their face just like that, the unusual brutality of the God's uncomfortable sincerity was impossible to swallow.

But what was even worse and disappointing about it was her incapacity to react: she couldn't contradict him, she couldn't scream her frustrations at him and she sure couldn't pretend that she didn't hear him….She felt cornered and violently shaken by the dimness of a situation in which she was making incredible efforts not to drown…..What a huge and shameful failure that proved to be…!

The instant he bent to pick up the woolen dress- carelessly throwing it back at her- for some unexplainable reason, she perceived his gesture as being the most humiliating and disregarding he had ever done when it came to her. Had he slapped her instead, she would have felt undoubtedly better about it….

"Here….you're still gonna need this….It might be just what it takes to warm up a little…"

Afterwards, he just passed her by, a content, arrogant smile playing on those demonically attractive lips, walking into the bedroom with such a proud demeanor engraved on his visage that not even the conquest of Troy itself could have surpassed it.

You'd all like to know that the best part of it all , was the fact that he paid absolutely no mind to her following reaction, behaving as if her psyche was incapable of holding secrets from him anymore, and thus, the mere idea of screening her body posture for any further intell meant to aid him disentangle the shaw of her many thoughts was totally out of the question …..He could already picture her fuming…His guess was correct….

A couple of seconds after the God stormed out of the room, any rational part of Xena's still active brain began screaming like Tartarus, telling her to simply leave the house without looking back- no remorse, no regrets, no more buried desires…..All she had to do was learn how to draw a line….a thick, visible line that she had to solemnly promise herself she would never cross again…..

Her mind was right….it was for the best if she left….better for both him and her….Her heart nonetheless continued to stay buff….

The moment she reached the door again, she just closed her eyes for what seemed to last like forever …When she opened them, she couldn't hold back that low murmur- so low that she herself was barely able to hear-…

"I **could** blame it all on the weather, after all…."

To her amusement, the line had sounded so wickedly plotting, that the wave of laughter overpowering her calmness came almost instantly...

Letting her leather tunic slid down her shoulders and further down on the floor, with gracious moves to rival Aphrodite's any day, she slowly put on the dark cappuccino dress instead….

She took a long, pensive gaze at herself, scanning a couple of times that illegally appealing silhouette, faithfully reflected in the window…..She frowned a bit: the dress was far too short for her taste- it's hem was barely managing to cover the arousing form of her toned ass cheeks as she stood still, as for the cleavage…well, let's just say that Ares was about to congratulate himself for having made her wear it…..

With insecure, childlike steps, she headed for the bedroom…She gently pushed the door open, expecting to find the God already sprawled on the bed like a lazy frog…..

She was stunned to find out that he wasn't there…Her restless blue moons instantly started searching...She quickly spotted him sitting on the large window sill, his head leaning against the cold glass, watching the rain pour down angrily and listening to the wind breaking the rotten branches of the old linden tree generously shading with it's full leaf more than half of the house…..

She didn't know what to say…..Before any idea came to her mind though, her eyes fixed the bed once more- absently at first, but two blinks later, she finally noticed it- : that couldn't possibly be her bed, not the same one in which, just awhile back she had slept with him and Gabrielle…..No, this one was…. smaller…Considerably smaller…

"What happened to my bed?!" she exclaimed with the desperate voice of a child who had lost their favorite toy.

"What do you mean?"

"It got…..smaller….."

"Are you saying it shrunk? " Ares inquired wonderingly, as if he had no clue what she was talking about.

"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not stupid! I'm just saying it's smaller…than I remember…." she quickly added trying to mask her surprise…

"The bed can't get smaller, Princess….Maybe it's you the one that got….bigger….."

Her eyes almost popped out of her head as his line broke out.

"I'm not fat!"

Giving her a disturbingly persistent once over, he playfully arched an eyebrow:

"I don't know about that…This dress does look a bit too tight on your waist and hips…Turn around a bit…" he urged, describing a small pirouette with his index…..

Without taking at least the minimum of time to analyze the reason of his obnoxious request and definitely eager to prove that she was in her best shape , the Warrior Princess rapidly complied.

Despite having prepared a slashing enough comeback meant to efficiently squash his Xena's immeasurable ego with one single blow, the sight he now had before him, left Ares speechless...He could swear it on the blood of Chronos himself, in eons of existence he had never seen such a hot, sexy woman…..Behind her every move and gesture there was an elegance and a sensuality hard to describe...She was definitely a splendor...Her long, slender, light bronze legs were perfectly sculpted and that amazingly luscious butt, sinfully covered by that rather minuscule patch of cloth only made him rethink the theory according to which a savage rape would unquestionably rise an indestructible wall between them…..The whole package was driving him crazy...

"So…?!" her voice reverberated, interrupting his stream of thoughts…..

He bit his lower lip hard before answering a very strangled "It must be the bed….."

She victoriously turned back around, an 'I told you so" expression glued on her face….There was noting left for him to do than to agree with her initial hypothesis….

"So…wanna tell me what happened to the bed now?"

Ares swallowed hard. Explaining time….his favorite part…..

"It broke….?"

"It broke?!" the incredulous reply soon followed. "How did it break?"

"I don't know…..I was just sleeping in it and it…..broke. "

"Just like that?"

"Yeah…..….just like that…."

The Warrior Princess narrowed her eyes at him…..She could see right through him and he knew it….He gazed away almost immediately, a flicker of guilt shading his amber like eyes.

"You're so full of shit!"

There was a long , awkward silence before he finally confessed his "crime"…..He just couldn't stand that tension floating in the air any more….As for her burning, inquisitive stare, he could physically feel it like a laser on his skin…If that wasn't scary than nothing was….

"Ok, fine! It was Greeba , happy now?"

She just rolled her eyes at him:

"Yeah, I imagined that much….You just couldn't help yourself, could you? "

To Ares' surprise, her tone was rather bemused than accusing….That was new…..and weird…..

"Well what did you expect….? You were gone, I was sad, lonely and aloof and Greeba was leaning over backwards to please me…It would have been impolite to say "no"…." he added with a devilish grin….

Xena's jaw finally clenched, proving that his first impression had been wrong…..He **was** getting to her…..

"Plus….she's not that bad once she keeps her mouth shut….On the other hand , those consuming screams breaking out of her lungs while she comes are particularly arousing…She's fun...!"

Needless to say that the pillow that hit him square in the nose with the speed of one of Zeus' lightening bolts was as unexpected as the heavy rain outside….

"Why did you do that for?!" the logical question hoarsely left his throat...He was bleeding...**again**...

"For fun…" she cynically answered slipping under the covers with remarkable coziness given the situation…."You can sleep on the floor…"

"I ain't sleeping on the floor in my own house!" the God revoltingly spat out, completely opposed to the idea…..

"It's **my** house!" Xena rushed to remind him.

"Well…technically…..But practically it's mine….I'm the one who's livin' here, ain't I?" he stubbornly contradicted.

They just glared daggers at one another for what must have been one whole minute...

"Well I'm not sleeping on the floor, and that's that!" Xena barked, while spitefully starting to arrange her pillow.

"Who said you have to? We can both fit in there…..You should learn how to share…" the suggestion was launched to the Warrior Princess' indignation.

"How about you go to Greeba and ask her to share her bed with you? I'm sure she wouldn't say no….It would be **impolite**." she stung, with the accuracy of a wasp….

"Do I hear jealousy again?...That's like the second time in...…in the same day, you know….? Are you like... getting possessive on me? Am I on a leash?"

"Yeah, I sure hope you hang yourself with it…..Spare me the trouble….." she resentfully retorted while pulling most of the blanket on top of her...

Despite her hostile attitude, Ares was still enjoying himself…..A jealous Warrior Princess was a rare thing to see…..He was planning on at least getting a kick out of it…

"Couldn't we use it **to tie** you to the bed instead?" he playfully inquired - winking seductively at her- while slipping under the covers just inches away from her.

Leaning on an elbow for support, he just stood there waiting for an answer which he somehow knew he wouldn't be that lucky to receive…

Initially, her lips parted to say something, but she quickly changed her mind about it and went for turning on the other side instead, silently begging for Morpheus to come running to her….

The irresistible warmth of Ares' fingers slowly pushing that smooth fabric covering her stimulating butt cheeks aside made the Dream God stay put in his realm though, defiantly ignoring the raven Warrior's call….One rough pull later and she was literally sitting in his lap, his arms circling her waist…

….She flinched at the contact….


	10. Strip poker

"_Just wanna let you know that you're not off the hook yet….I'm still keen on using that leash, and I'm not planning on dropping the idea any time soon…." he murmured hot against her neck - his sugary voice efficiently averting her attention from what was truly important- his left hand sliding even more underneath her dress, that is, and that ultimately promiscuous performance that his skillful fingers were giving through the silky fabric of her underwear as he began massaging her …._

_Her mouth opened in a silent cry at the contact, and naturally, her first reaction was to bark some sort of a threatening protest meant to make him stop and just let her sleep…..The only problem with actually getting to do that was that the teasing warmth of his touch there felt sooo damn good that biting her lower lip hard enough as to keep quiet was all that her body accepted to do besides arching into his lap even more, enjoying that highly stimulating sensation of his rock hard cock pressing impatiently against her ass cheeks ….She couldn't help wanting he'd just get those damn pants off…._

_A wicked, wicked smile instantly made Ares appear even sexier than he already was...His face was literally glowing from the light of that barely restrained lust and her rhythmic, ceaseless, unconscious grind against him was more than he could ask for…..It was as clear as daylight: after all the waiting, the cat and the mouse, he was finally on the right path towards that illegally steamy night with her that he had been dreaming about for awhile now …He just had to play his cards correctly, no rash moves, no overly passionate kisses, and….definitely more talking in the attempt of cleverly inciting her imagination-and thus slowly building her desire in spite of her still perceivable reluctance…_

"_You know….the mere idea of having you defenseless like that….with no escape route, with no other option than to comply to my any command…..Gods Xe…..do you have any idea what I'd do to you…..?" a muffled groan was released into her shoulder, and for the love of Zeus all Mighty , he could swear that for a split second , he could feel her heart changing the intensity of it's beats- a subtle detail that was entirely true given the fact that by the time he ended his phrase, the Warrior Princess could distinctly sense the blood pounding disturbingly loud into her ears as her body temperature seemed to rise considerably…She was burning hot and she could no longer control those incandescent waves of ecstasy from rising, the inside of her belly sending ludicrously fast sharp, blazing arrows towards the very tip of her clit with his every new stroke….._

_When she finally managed to mumble some rather unintelligible retort that should have sounded just as slashingly obnoxious as his previous comment had been-a little bit too late though given that one full minute had past since Ares had stopped talking- the God didn't even bother with uttering a reply._

_He just took advantage of her clouded with ecstasy mind and added instead a few more drops of mute incentive while sensually sucking on her earlobe, his deep, ragged breath and his low gasps of impossibly to restrain pleasure having for the enthralled Warrior Princess an effect worse than heroine, making her absolutely passive to the fact that while speaking he had carelessly started to unlace her dress, and had pulled it half way down her waist, thus gaining full access to her firm, luscious breasts…._

_Her flushed face just like her rapidly rising and falling chest were obvious signs of the immeasurable intensity of those whirling sensations enslaving her will and reason…..Once again, her body refused to react when Ares grabbed a fistful of her hair, pulling her head backwards and brutally opening her lips with his tongue in a way more demanding kiss that he had first intended…She just let go of any connection she still had with reality and answered with the same eagerness, surprising even herself with the promptitude of her reaction, just like she did the moment his fingers decided that it was about time to move inside her, patiently looking for her G spot before he cleverly started to tease the place with a precision that soon sent her climbing up the walls, making her moan louder and louder into his mouth. _

"_You're so damn sexy when you moan….Irresistible….."_

_With every new sound that escaped her throat, his shaft seemed to be twitching and throbbing even more with uncontrollable lust…..By the time his tongue abandoned her mouth and shifted it's focus on the rough surface of her erect nipples, she was so wet that his own cock was literally swollen with desire…..He was so hard that it almost hurt, but he still needed to hear her scream first, that unique, self abandoning scream that could make him come by the mere presence of it's note …_

"_Come on baby, come on…."_

_Her hips were now anxiously pushing up and down forcing his fingers to go deeper inside her, desperately searching for a more brutal push, for just the right pressure to make her loose herself in the moment….He simply dropped the initial plan...How in Hades could he refuse? _

"_I got something better for you, you know….Way better…"_

_The very next second, as his strong hands unexpectedly pushed her half naked body against the wall, literally crushing it there -with such ferocity that could unmistakably be classified as pure, inhuman violence in any civilized part of the world- he finally __replaced those fingers with his painfully pulsating but earning cock._

_She instinctively tried to fight it at first, of course she did, just like he had expected her too….I mean, where was the fun if she gave up just like that after all? Nonetheless, escaping the inevitable was out of the question... plus, that drug like sensation of her inner muscles contracting with each new shove was intoxicating._

_With long, slow thrusts that gradually became more and more intense, he began pumping harder and harder , and he could no longer restrain those ultimately arousing, needy groans from leaving his throat….She felt ridiculously wet and tight and that addictive smell of her arousal just made him wanna push himself even deeper inside her, as deep as it went.…._

_Looking for a more comfortable position , he soon turned her on her belly, and minutes later she was twisting and jerking beneath him, her nails digging wildly into the bed sheets as a huge jolt of power struck from the tip of her clit outward through her entire body, something very similar to electricity but wayyyy better…._

_Her loud, involuntary scream was the perfect sign for Ares to increase his rhythm…He was relentless…._

"_You're mine…..Tell me that you're mine…."_

_She didn't realize that she actually said the words, but she did…. she rather screamed them in fact and there was so much truth in her voice, that, the God would have most likely patted himself on the back if he hadn't been way to engulfed in savoring the after effects of that indescribable explosion ripping trough his every cell from head to toe…."_

"Well….this is one hell of an article….The Warrior Princess and the ex God of War…But ….are you sure this is what you saw Nigel? 'Cause if you're lying, I do hope you realize you'll never work in this field ever again….You could as well take classes in milking cows…."

"Come on Socrates, would I lie to you?"

The old man just arched his eyebrow at him from behind a desk, complete incredulity written all over his face.

"Now why would I do that?" the young journalist exclaimed, reinforcing the falsity of his words with a completely innocent expression that only made the old man smile all knowingly.

"They can sue you, you know…..And as always, the Athenian Forum is just waiting for new, juicy scandals….They're worse than vultures! And by all the Gods of Olympus if you dare drag me into this mess with you…."

"I take full responsibility ok?! For crying out loud Boss, she was getting dressed when I got there in the morning and he was half naked….Now in your experience, what does that tell you?"

"Strip poker?"

"Come on!"

"How did you come up with the subject anyway?!"

"Well, the girls from the Brothel they were all talking about this tall, dark, hypnotizingly good looking guy…and then I saw the ex God of War in the market, and somehow, it clicked….."

"The brothel? What were you doing at the brothel?!"

"I was **interviewing** …the ladies…."

"You were interviewing them…."

"Yeah, you know about the…working conditions and occupational safety and health…..payment and all...that….." he managed to mumble, barely connecting the right words together in order to form a plausible excuse.

This time, the old man could no longer restrain that wave of laughter from leaving his lungs….He was way to bemused by the ridiculousness of his employee's reaction and that notorious clumsiness of his whenever he needed to lie was just too much for any sane person to resist….

"Anyway….I tried to talk to the guy, find some information but he was….how should I call it….. very…uncommunicative …"

"That's where you got that bruised eye from?" Socrate's sarcastic question immediately followed.

"No….that's from the tree…."

"I'm afraid you've lost me…."

"Well, you see, given the fact that Ares was so **antisocial** I kinda followed him….He went home…and guess who was on the porch, anxiously waiting for him? Xena Warrior Princess…..! Can you believe that?"

The old man was gazing at him expectantly, waiting for the rest of the story...

"After a brief line exchange they went inside….so I started using my fierce espionage techniques…."

"...And Xena had nothing to say about you spying on her….? Given her reputation I'm surprised you're still in one piece….! "

"Well I guess she didn't bother looking for intruders with all that rain and all…."

"It was raining….?"

"Yeah, and I climbed into a tree to have a better view….The branches were slippery…."

Socrates just shook his head disapprovingly, silently wondering if he was as equally stupid when he was young….

"I just love my job too much Sir, so I try doing everything by the book….professionalism comes first, no matter the weather conditions. " the man apologetically added, noticing his reaction.

"Nigel my boy, I must say…..you are dumber than you look…." the old man concluded. "But ok….….do whatever you want….I might even give you the front page…but don't forget, I did warn you!"

"Thanks Boss! You won't regret it, I promise! Pinky swear and all ….Anyway….I won't publish it yet….I still have some digging to do…I somehow feel there's more to this story than it meets the eye….."


	11. Rich, famous and lovable

And there was more to the story, indeed….a whole lot more interesting stuff that Nigel had no chance of ever finding out, for his fantasy fiction pretty much ended with Xena throwing the golden apple in the hands of the anxiously to turn back to her old self again Aphrodite, thus wisely equaling the balance between War's uncontrollable thirst for bloodshed and carnage and Love's ridiculous dreams of sugar melted hearts and romantic serenades under the moonlight….

Unfortunately, for every Daily Papyrus reader from Pelion to Cythera, the epic battle of the Gods –and most of all, Ares and Xena's steaming romance- was drastically reduced- as a direct consequence of the blatantly miserable academic studies of that brainless reporter-to a couple of insignificant lines completely devoid of emotion…- a rather dull dialogue that clumsily managed to turn a fairy good story into an ordinary tavern gossip ….

Here's what I'm talking about:

EXTRACTS FROM THE **"HATEFUL LOVE- XENA AND ARES"** ARTICLE ( By Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times)

_We were all standing there, before the walls of Valhalla, holding our breaths while waiting for an historical confrontation to decide the very future of mankind…._

_At first, there was silence, a long heavy silence that even a peasant's child could tell it was about to bring nothing good…Silence….silence even inside our heads…Deep, burdening silence until, right out of nowhere, as if the Gates of Tartarus themselves had been smashed by an army of tormented souls in the desperate attempt to escape the damned place, thunderous sounds of swords clashing began filling the air, splitting our eardrums with each new blow…._

_A battle that would be most certainly sung for centuries on end by our grandchildren's children was unfolding before our very eyes…..Xena-possibly the greatest human warrior in recorded history was fighting Odin-king of the Norse Gods , two towering mountains defying any natural or unnatural limit and constraint in order to get their hands on one of the few things that could grant any Mortal eternal life and any Deity boundless power and dominion… _

_But…as I always said, nothing can better describe a situation than quotes, and given that I have a phenomenal memory, I am willing to share with you, my faithful, constant, passionate papyrusworms, everything that I've heard that day…So __if you're not seated yet while reading this shockingly revealing article I strongly suggest you do it as fast as you can , __for you're about to get the shock of your life…_

_**Important note**__: The information mentioned in the content presented below is highly UNrecommended to people known to suffer from various heart conditions…Having a stroke would be imminent…The Daily Papyrus will not take responsibility for any of the deaths following the irresponsible reading of this article…_

_Anyway, enough with the blabber….here goes nothing: _

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times) " Xena is attempting to wrestle the golden apples, from Odin. But the question still remains-should she succeed in getting these apples-whom will she bestow the gift of godhood? Now that's a good question, isn't it, and I could bet my life that each and every one of you, my dear, honorable citizens would like to know it's answer wouldn't you….? Well, you might not believe it but I think I might have discovered the truth…"**_

_An earsplitting sound interrupted my speech that very then…quite rudely too... Screams and dust everywhere…_

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times) " Did you hear that? That was Odin begging for his life! Oh-h h h-h yeah, that's right…..Something appears to be happening inside Valhalla! . **_

_**BEOWULF- "The day may be decided…"**_

_To my utter amazement, from smoke and dust, Xena appeared- still in one piece-, a victorious smile playing on her lips. She was suggestively kicking the Norse God's ass just for fun, golden apples in one had sword in the other…._

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times): Xena, you won! You've actually beaten the legendary Odin, fair and square!….How do you feel about all this? "**_

_**XENA: "Couldn't be better! Obviously he could have saved himself a world of trouble if he had just handed the fruits in the first place! But no need to rub his nose in it..." **_

_**ODIN: "My pain is almost over anyway….Well eat already, what are you waiting for? You will be able to destroy me then and your victory will be complete….!"**_

_My eyes were on Xena. She had this most incredibly vicious smug painted on her face….I somehow had a bad feeling about the type of future that the Fates would struggle to lie ahead of us…._

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times): Xena….What are you planning to do with the …apples? **_

_She didn't bother to answer. The Warrior Princess did have a bad reputation when it came to speaking her mind ...but she did chuckle lowly while throwing Ares one of those dirty looks that said so much more than words could….That's when the truth suddenly hit me…"_

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times): ….Xena, Xena no….You can't send Ares back to Olympus…"**_

_**XENA "Now he's telling me what I can't do. Imagine that!" **__she muttered displeased, closing in the distance between her and the ex War God_

_Before any of us had the time to blink once, Ares was already taking a huge bite out of that little golden beauty._

_**ARES: "Mmm…It's juicy…Oh here it comes….here it comes Baby….Oh, yeah! All right! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" **_

_Yells and laughs on the soundtrack….Not mine of course…_

_**ME ( aka Nigel, the greatest reporter of all times): "I knew it! You were in this for yourself all along!" **_

_I couldn't control that yell, trust me...I didn't try too hard though, I suppose. Maybe it was because I felt double crossed and that was a bit annoying….._

_**ODIN " Of course she was you moron! Who wouldn't wanna be a God?" **_

_**ARES "That's right…who wouldn't wanna be a God? Go ahead…take a bite…It's good…" **_

_**GABRIELLE: "Don't…" **__the Bard rushed to intervene sensing the danger…_

_Nonetheless, the Olympian cut her off real fast._

_**ARES "Hey….there's nothing for you here…The weasel had a good idea you know….become a Goddess…we could have some kicks…."  
**_

_**XENA "Wouldn't want you to be alone on Olympus…."**_

_She was tempted…definitely tempted. Her eyes were shining with new, earth shattering possibilities, that was as clear as daylight. The lovers finally together…for eternity…._

_**GABRIELLE "Xena…Don't…." **_

_The Bard just had to make another try….The God paid her no mind. He was by now literally deaf to her words…_

_**ARES " My thought's exactly…."**_

_Tension...tension...suspense...and...bewilderment. .._

_**XENA "Aphrodite will keep you company…"**_

_One moment later , the Blonde daughter of Zeus was standing at her Brother's side, a very particular gleam in her eyes, her immortal beauty completely restored at the same time that the protective wings of love spread across the world's surface once more…._

_**APHRODITE: "Perfection again!...Finally….! This mortality thing really sucked….!" **_

_**ARES: "My Sister gave you back the power to love, Xena….Think about it…Think of the possibilities…."**_

_In response, she just gave him an apologetic smile. _

_**ARES:" I guess you know I'll never stop trying "**_

_**XENA "I'd expect nothing else…" **_

_Romantic moment, stupidly interrupted by the visibly excited Love Goddess: _

_**APHRODITE:"Shall we leave these mortals to their business? Come on Bro', let's go home" **_

..._And home they went, hand in hand- and I could bet my life that each and every one of you is thinking right now at the exact same thing that I myself was thinking about back then…**incest should be made legal in all countries…**_

_Too bad for the Warrior Princess though…she appears to be quite a decent specimen after all….But hey…not all love stories have happy endings right? "_

….And yeah, that was the end of Nigel's article….Quite lame, I know…

Now let me tell you the rest of the story….that following part that could have made that bird brained reporter rich, famous and lovable, a certain part that he couldn't have possibly been aware of on the other hand- one needs to have friends in high places in order to be able to access this type of information- for the shocking scene took place up on Olympus, hours after the Gods' departure….

So…were was I?...


	12. Master and slave

He had lived for eons on end. Eons…-infinite minutes and hours, horrifically long days and nights, boringly slow passing years, and still, one century after the other had somehow mechanically flown away without him daring to at least hope at ever meeting a woman like her.

…Thus, one shouldn't be astounded by the fact that, when the historical event finally happened, his obtuse brain obstinately refused to believe it was actually true while his ice cold heart rejected any emotional involvement in their relationship with a ferocity to match the one of Cerberus during a copious feast….It took like forever for the walls surrounding his divine soul to crumble...but they did eventually...they all did , one by one until there was no obstacle left standing.

….She was absolutely perfect…perfect in every imaginable way: she had grace, sensuality, strength, intelligence, a killer body and an even more murderous mind, a flawless intuition, a sky high capacity to get out of messy situations, will and guts, but most of all she had that inextinguishable fire and lust for violence, War and conquest that no mortal had ever possessed before her.

She was made to rule, to make every breathing and living thing tremble at the sound of her name, she was made to be his…..As for him….he was made to own her - in every sense of the word- to teach her, to command her, to mold her, to worship her , to love her and to make her love and hate him with the same maddening intensity as he in his turn, loved and hated her.

….They were meant to be together...Their story had been written down from the beginning of time….The Fates themselves had foretold their unbreakable union long before he himself had seen the light of day, and though the word "sweet" was supposed to be as unfitting for his crappy character as the deep meaning of "mercy" was to Celesta, it kinda described what he felt for her more accurately than anything else.

Breaking each one of those initially "unbending" rules, he allowed his unmatchable ego to secretly melt away enormous quantities of it's divine essence into that dangerously enthralling poison streaming like lava from the very core of her sugary but lethal presence; his life only made sense when it was unfolding on the background music produced by the dynamic drumming of her restless heart….Taming her, forcing her hand to give in while being forever aware of the utter impossibility of such error ever occurring, had become a purpose much more significant than any other he had dreamed of having…Plus, given that the ridiculously out of fashion idea of ruling the world in his Father's place or the bloody one of savagely slaughtering half of mankind just for fun were no longer on his top priorities list, he needed a new toy to take the boredom away.

Cleverly guessing what he was basically longing for, the Warrior Princess had gradually managed to transform herself into the center of his gravity…..In his eyes, all Universe revolved around her…..His own , personal Sun….his creation, his pride and joy….

…..Thus, to think that he was now barely controlling himself from ripping her to pieces was inconceivable …even for him….

**XXX**

The sudden, unexpected blue vortex that had hungrily swallowed the Warrior Princess just seconds before the overly talkative Bard managed to launch yet another dumb question about the intriguing origin of the golden apples, received an absolutely revolving connotation in the eyes of the raven Chosen of War who angrily opened them as wide as two Roman coliseums, the very instant the dizziness caused by that unnatural means of traveling was gone…..

It took less than two blinks for her sharp mind to realize where she had been brought and who exactly was the person eager enough to die as to dare do that. Soon, even the last of her suspicions were confirmed: the reckless author of that foolishly challenging action was none other than her patron God and the elegant location he had ceremoniously chosen for the meeting was indeed the Great Hall of Olympus…

Any keen observer could have noticed that she was not taken aback by the apparently spontaneuous event….She was a smart girl after all….Most likely, she must have easily predicted that a "part two" of their abruptly interrupted romantic moment was in order….And still, it only took one casual glance for her to realize that bubbly love and sweet talk were the last thing the grim looking Olympian had in mind …

...Now **that** was truly a weird enough detail to make one wish to know more, considering his contagious excitement from just a couple of hours before…

Consequently, she was more than intrigued, she was **eager** to find out what could have caused that unnaturally swift mood swing, but at the same time, his sick nerve to just pop her there without her consent, was beyond irritating…It was rather scandalous considering their incredibly tangled history….

Taking a long, greedy sip from the artistically shaped goblet of ambrosia he was holding, Ares smiled courteously at her while with a brief, almost disinterested once over, he found out everything that he needed to know. Her intimidating body posture spoke highly of a woman completely in control of her emotions and reactions -just like she had always been- but her every cell was trembling in the anticipation of what she could only hope was about to follow-fighting him was definitely not on her list, he could tell that much- Thus, that slashing gaze darting from her toxically azure irides – a gaze that would have been unmistakably envied by even the most famous Athenian actor-made no impression on him ….He could instantly tell apart a clay mask from the real deal...

Little did she know that in but a matter of minutes, what started as a harmless interpretation of a faithfully executed routine-in which both of them were bound to play their parts to perfection- would quickly degenerate into something as filthy as mud and as puddle as rainwater…Something extremely real, something that was clearly about to let her agape given that strangely displayed defiance and wrath mirrored on the surface of his steely eyes, a detail that Xena curiously left aside for some odd, hard to understand reason….

Maybe it was that usual detachment of his -that she was so accustomed hating- that threw her flawless attention off balance...I mean that common sight of him trying to make himself even more comfortable than he already was on his late Father's marble throne, casually sprawling one leg over the armrest in a pose meant to illustrate nothing else than ultimate relaxation, didn't offer at first any clues related to the inner turmoil grinding his brain like a corn mil...She just erronately interpreted it as one of those unbelievably irritating gestures he loved doing just for the fun of making her snap. She couldn't have possibly suspected that there was considerably more emotion hiding behind his own mask, and that for once that desperate attempt to relax was actually meant to bring him at least an ounce of true calmness, a state of mind that he was silently begging for that very then...

When she finally spoke, her line seemed to respect the common pattern imposed by their forever "tensed" relationship. She was obviously compelled to make an allusion to his unorthodox methods of bringing her there.

"Now I'm really starting to regret having declined your offer…I would have turned you to ashes within a blink…." she barked at him on such a convincing tonality that in any other circumstances he would have wondered twice whether the content of his answer was suitable or not.

"Is that so? Well then…. I suppose that you'll find the opportunity that I'm about to present you quite pleasing….." the God retorted while making a pretty golden apple appear in his hand and casually throwing it to her. "As I said…take a bite….it's juicy….you'd love it….And, as a bonus you'll get the chance to cremate me…"

Needless to say, Xena was in shock. The invisible mask fell instantly on the floor, shattering into little pieces...His mask soon followed.

When she replied, her voice was strangled with anger and surprise….real anger this time….All falsity had been thrown out the window at the awareness of his heinous, double crossing intent.

"How did you get this?!" the question literally burst out of her chest along with a loud sneer.

"You gotta be kidding me! You left them to Odin for safe keeping! Odin! I mean come on, the guy 's literally incapable of guarding his own sword! Like it or not Darling, you have to admit it, that was the worse idea you'd ever had….It certainly rivals the one with me posing as a farmer…." his answer was launched on an audibly more sarcastic note than he had first intended, and he would have certainly felt a bit regretful at the thought of having stung her ego a bit too hard if it hadn't been for that decimating fury burning inside him at the mere sight of her.

"You stole the apples from Odin?!"

She sounded reaalllyyy pissed…a detail that failed heroically to cause him any unnecessary worries.

"**Stealing** is such a negative and incriminating word... Why don't we go for **borrowed **instead? 'Sounds less harsh than the first?"

"Why don't I shove this up your ass instead?!" she snapped drawing her sword, and given the tension building inside her muscles it was more than obvious that a full scale attack had strangely become unavoidable.

Completely unlike him, Ares didn't even blink at the sound of her bold, challenging phrase. The trace of his ironic smile vanished though before she could utter one more syllable, and his face hardened visibly as soon as his hands clenched around the armrests, in such a vicious grip that the Warrior Princess could have sworn that it was but a matter of seconds until they would crack under the effect of that superhuman strength….

Simultaneously, his eyes changed their soft mahogany nuance into a frighteningly menacing pitch black that she had seen before on several different occasions…..She unconsciously arched an eyebrow….She was well aware of what that particular glare meant for each and every living and breathing thing located in the immediate radius of the fuming God….

"Sadly you'll have to settle with using it to slice that fruit, unless you want **me** to personally come and shove it down your throat, that is…" he stressed, winking at her, and it was crystal clear that he was not joking…

"Has that ambrosia affected your brain or something?" she hissed through gritted teeth, refusing to obey his absolutely ridiculous demand. the expression of a raging lioness ready to tear him to pieces.

The moment the sound of marble cracking and falling on the floor could be heard though, Xena's flawless self defense mechanism urged her to take one step back….Unfortunately for her, that praisable instinct was instantly choked by her sky high pride….Standing her ground just like he had taught her too a long time back was the only reaction that she could afford, despite being well aware of just how wrong it felt.…

For what seemed to last an eternity in mortal time, Ares closed his eyes, forcefully scotching his boiling anger and successfully annihilating the impulse of rising from that throne and beating the crap out of her.

When he did reply though, despite his best efforts, from his every word, dark fury was reverberating like the mortuary sonority of a raging flood sweeping away houses…

"Just out of curiosity,did you actually believe that once I got my powers back, I would be that busy as to not take interest any more in what you were up to?"

She flinched…he couldn't possibly know….She hadn't told anyone about it, not even Gabrielle….

She decided that feigning ignorance was the best policy given the circumstances…Again, not one of her best ideas….

"What do you mean?"

"What do I mean? " ….the God echoed on the gravest of tones, rising from the throne and slowly descending the three stairs separating them with such shattering confidence and determination that the Warrior Princess couldn't help wishing she had gone with the second option.

From the outside, he appeared to be still in control -almost bewitched by the surreal beauty of her statuesque visage- a reality confirmed the moment his fingers began running up and down the her long, dark tresses, caressing their silky surface with a hard to imagine gentleness. For Xena though, his gesture roughly translated in an explicit enough threat to make her skin crawl, a willingly indirect gesture that had nothing to do with neither affection nor weakness.

Nonetheless, she didn't stir….. her lips were the only ones that parted slightly at the teasingly seductive effect of his touch…

"Does Japa ring any bells?"

She hesitated for a moment wondering if continuing to deny it and simply lie to his face was of any help…..In spite of the alarming messages sent by her impeccable sixth sense she somehow reached the dramatic conclusion that it wouldn't hurt to try….if there was even the slightest chance for him to back away, it was worth the effort…

"Should it?" she firmly retorted, piercing him with her gaze.

….As I said before…..not one of the brightest ideas she had ever had, for the instant the throaty phrase left her mouth, the God gave his fingers a totally different usage, and before she knew it, her cheeks were being tightly and very uncomfortably pressed together with the crushing force of a grip vice that made her let out a savage moan. She could literally feel her jaw crushing under the effect…

At the same time, his free hand kept stroking her hair rhythmically….Again, to Xena it felt anything but a loving caress…Her experience with him was way to vast so that all that faked tenderness could be mistaken for something else. Plus, she couldn't possibly let herself forget that in but a matter of seconds, everything could have easily turn into a dreadfully painful experience. Deluding herself would have brought nothing good...

To all appearances, the danger was imminent, his demand mindblowingly absurd, and the options to avoid it rather limited. Still, according to the rigorous code that needed to be respected by any decent Warrior, she knew she had to act somehow, to try to find a way out of that unprecedented mess no matter the consequences.

Violence was of course the dumbest alternative imaginable, but it wasn't like she could afford the luxury to choose, and thus, directing a painful elbow blow right beneath the God' left rib was like the first effective move that came to her mind, a blow that despite it's crushing intensity didn't manage to make it's victim to at least change his facial expression.

"Try that again, and I swear it on Styx, I'm gonna break your little neck…" he murmured against her ear, kissing softly her temple in the process.

His voice though was trembling with rage….

"Now …here's how **I** see things: you're gonna eat that damn apple, become immortal and then you can go back to the trashy Blonde, just like that….Refuse to do it, and by the time you get down from Olympus, you'll find her hacked to pieces, her head hanging up on a spike, decorating the Acropolis, and you do know me well enough to tell that I'm not joking...So…..what should it be, Honey? "

Another elbow kick, considerably more powerful and damaging this time made the God's face twist in fury, and his fingers snake brutally around her neck .

Her recklessness was obviously not going to remain unpunished….Strangling her to death could provide a certain amount of fun after all….

She tried not to fight it at first, hoping that her passiveness would make him loose his appetite, but she was soon to discover that the War God was anything but fond of the concept of giving up fulfilling an interesting objective.

And so, about two minutes later, the instinctive battle for life began, just like Ares knew it would, a battle that she was bound to loose…Nonetheless, as the last ounce of life she still had sparkling inside her seemed to leave her, her still trashing body gradually loosing it's force along with her visage's natural color, right before she slipped out of consciousness, Ares loosened his grip, allowing her to breathe , but without actually removing his hands from around her neck , keeping them there like a collar, a collar that cruelly reminded her of who was the master and who was the slave…..That was a detail that tended to slip her memory quite often…

"See Princess? If you really have a death wish, you just need to tell me…no reason to take that tiring trip all the way to Japa just to get yourself killed! Now... I strongly suggest you make that choice or I'll have to choose for ya', and by Tartarus, trust me, it would be in the Sidekick's benefit if you are the one who takes the pick."


	13. Wrong move

"Get your filthy hands off me!" she hissed the command, clenching her hands around his wrists in the industrious attempt to free herself from his grasp, but it was obviously to no avail. What ever energy she had left could fairly equal to a big fat zero compared to Ares' godly strength and stamina.

Nonetheless, to her unexpressed astonishment, the moment her mind began to realize and accept that there was nothing she could physically do compel him to back away, with a faint, displeased grimace, the God simply let go of her, stubbornly refusing to take at least one step back though.

He had obviously proven his point –she had no choice but to obey him whether she was a fan of the idea or not- and thus, there was no need to hurt her any longer. He liked her much more alive than dead….

When she began talking again, her breath was still labored, her dry lips almost touching his own as a delightful result of their closeness, but still, neither of them bothered to shift to a less compromising position.

One should definitely specify that, despite what anyone might have thought, their gesture had absolutely nothing to do with sexual tension but with pure, barely controlled rage and with an inborn, tenacious desire to dominate the other.

Backing one single inch would have roughly translated into a way too shameful defeat for the one cursed to act out of impulse and a way too easy victory for the other. Given that the concepts of weakness and lost pride themselves were hard to swallow for any of them , the chance of such event actually occurring was inconceivable.

"And since when in Tartarus is any of your damn business what I'm planning to do with my life ? I think I'm old enough to decide what I want for my self!" she barked at him, hostility rolling off her tongue in waves.

" It instantly became my business when you swore allegiance to me and became my Chosen! You always say you hate hearing about it but somehow you always force me to bring it up. As for your plans, at least it's a good thing you're not contemplating the perspective of throwing yourself off some cliff again!" he growled lowly, eyes blazing, his stomach literally turning at the thought of her imminent death, and judging by his trembling hands it was pretty clear that he was on the edge of loosing his patience once more.

"Well maybe it wouldn't hurt to try, would it?" she didn't think twice about biting back, her beautifully painted eyebrows pushing into a furious angle over her hypnotizing blue moons. "And let's not forget there are blades that can pierce even the veil of immortality , Ares!" she menacingly added after a brief pause, a threat from which the God failed to accurately understand if she was talking about him or about her.

She made sure to clarify it for him.

"Immortality…..such a fragile thing…..You've lost it a couple of times now….I can't help wondering how will you pull it off as a farmer next time- when there would be no one by your side to save your ass each time some bloodthirsty warlord wants to cash some gold…" she murmured in a suspiciously calm voice now, tracing the edge of his vest with her index just for the sake of seeing him fight his violent instincts and silently hoping that he would take the bait.

Knowing Ares as she did, she was prepared to bet her chakram that when it came to his status, the arrogant Olympian was ready to leave aside anything on Zeus' green earth just to maintain it- as if all that elaborated story with Eve hadn't even existed-…..Boy , was she wrong!

" 'Think I'm bluffing, huh?" his words flowed hot over her parted lips while his hand clasped hers the very instant her fingers shifted their enchanting caress on the surface of his perfectly chiseled chest, thus deliberately letting her know that whatever her initial plan had been , it was failing miserably... "Ok…" he scornfully continued while placing the shadow of a faint kiss on the back of her hand.

Within a split second he was gone leaving her all alone in the huge Hall. Her panic reached unprecedented levels almost instantly.

"Ares! " she yelled from the top of her lungs, belligerence and frustration still very much present in her tone.

She couldn't believe her eyes. He was actually gone….Gone after Gabrielle...

"He wouldn't dare…" she sedulously tried to reinforce her rapidly hurtling confidence while restlessly scanning the place for an exit. When she found none, an overwhelming feeling of desperation crept into her along with a fierce, sudden, stab of pain….She couldn't loose her….

"Ares you Bastard, come back here!"

This time, dark fury was subtly replaced with the hint of a rather pleading note.

Hardly had she finished that phrase, that, right out of nowhere, a flash of sparkling blue announced the presence of the cocky War God. He wasn't alone as she had expected it though- the Blond Bard was with him, terror engraved deeply on every inch of her usually serene face, his sword suggestively positioned against her neck, ready to slash.

"Xena? What's goin' on?" the interrogatory soon started, making the Warrior Princess even more nervous than she already was.

"Nothing Gabrielle. Don't worry about it. Everything's fine." the poorly fabricated lie was voiced in the attempt to calm their spirits , probably doing her very best to lie to herself too, her wide opened moons involuntarily screaming from afar that there was much more to the story than it met the eye.

Gabrielle swallowed hard the instant she sensed a thin trail of blood trickling down her chest. She instinctively covered it with her hands as if wanting to stop it from flowing.

Needless to say, Xena's heart skipped a beat. She was on needles and pins...

"Calm down Blondie, it's just a scratch for now….And if you really wanna know what you've been missing, I'd be glad to share with you the latest news…." Ares stated, a devilish grin stretching the corners of his sinful mouth the moment his gaze found it's way back to Xena's tensed features.

The raven Warrior could tell from his tone though that he had already expertly classified what was happening as being everything but amusing.

" Leave her out of this Ares! "

"Why? She's your best friend isn't she? I was under the impression that best friends don't hide stuff from each other….They don't act behind your back, leaving you in the dark while they organize crazy, **suicide missions** to Japa!" Ares stressed, making sure the puzzled Bard got the message, to the Warrior Princes' visible indignation.

"What ?!" Gabrielle thundered, ready to invade Xena's personal space , almost forgetting that she had a blade grazing at her throat.

"Oh! So I was right. You had no clue about this, had you ?" the God innocently inquired, pretending to be literally perplexed by that "completely unanticipated fact", while at the same time winking playfully at his Chosen, silently drinking in the unique sight of her, so confused, so lost inside that torturing maze formed out of hundreds and hundreds of tiny, microscopic details, virtual excuses and cursing speeches that were certainly hammering her brain in the most uncomfortable way possible.

"Xena, is this true?" the following question popped up, way before the Warrior Princess had the chance to say something in her defense.

"Nooo…..Gabrielle….he's just exaggerating….."

"Well , well….I didn't know Warrior Princesses lied …Keeping secrets from your friend, here? Why would you do that...? Wait, don't answer it yet, let me guess...You don't trust her, is that it? Of course it is! What a huuuuuge disappointment! " he cleverly added a bit more incentive, just enough to get the already fuming Bard wanna break something.

"Japa?!Xena! How could you keep this away from me?!"

"Yeah Xena, how could you ?" the overly theatrically uttered line came pouring out of the Olympian's mouth, his face expressing so much nonchalantly mocked pain that the well contoured line formed by the Warrior Princess' lips become a bit too hard to ignore.

"You double faced Son of a…" she began, taking two steps towards them.

"Now, now Xena, I wouldn't do that if I were you….She wouldn't look too good on a funeral pyre…."

Still completely convinced that he was only bluffing, that it was all an act and that he actually lacked the proper balls to actually kill her friend , the Warrior Princess decided to play rough and advanced, paying no mind to the God's disapproving gesture.

"Wrong move, Princess…."

In less than a blink, a heavily bleeding Gabrielle was crumbling at the Olympian's feet, blood springing from her neck like a fountain, rapidly covering the white marble floor in a warm crimson layer, contrasting almost artistically with the dark golden color of the walls.

Xena's face immediately turned from horror to shock and back , and it was but a matter of seconds before she rushed by the dying Bard's side, feverishly trying to stoop her hemorrhage, a task impossible to achieve even for the most experimented doctor given the depth of the cut.

"Tsk tsk tsk…..My dear Xena….You never listen, do you …?" the heartless observation was launched on an almost resigned note by the God who was now diligently wiping the traces of claret staining his blade on the Bard's light brown top, to his Chosen's unspeakable revolt. "Now…let's see just how badly you want her back…."


	14. Strapless red lace dress

"You worthless piece of crap…" she suddenly erupted, visibly unable to decide whether still pressing on her dead friend's wound was of any help anymore or not…..She could easily tell she had faded- her glassy eyes were a solid enough proof after all- but somehow, her hands were adamantly refusing to accept and obey her brain's command. There was no life left in her, no breath due to leave her lungs, it was as clear as daylight….. There was nothing she could possibly do for her. Not any more...

But then again, **"nothing" **had always been an overrated concept.…..

"My offer still stands….Embrace your immortality Xena and I will bring her back for you. As a bonus, I'll even erase her memory. She won't remember a word of our little chit chat. I mean…. what more could you ask for? " her own thoughts echoed noisily through his voice, and he couldn't help arching an eyebrow at the sight of that unchecked tear gliding down the Warrior Princess' face.

He rolled his eyes at the sight of her childish reaction. Gods knew he was more than aware that it was not pain that unpleasant feeling grazing ferociously the thick walls of her heart. No….it was frustration, helplessness … spite even…but not true suffering of any kind. It was not the case.

"I could ask for a life lived in peace without you constantly breathing down my neck!" she growled lowly, starring daggers at him for the thousand time that day.…

If only looks could kill…-call it wishful thinking…

"Now where would the fun in that be, again? Come on Princess, cut the drama. You need me around. You **want** me around. And your place is right here by my side, you know it, I know it...And by Tartarus, you can deny it as long as you want to, but don't forget…I can read you like an open book, so I'm rather familiar with everything that's going on in that naughty mind of yours…" the overly bold lines left the God's mouth on a disturbingly confident tone.

"If that were true, you wouldn't be standing now before me trying to force my hand into doing something against my will!"

"Forcing you? But Princess, I'm not…You can always choose to let the Blonde go….It's as simple as that, see ? If you find no use for her anymore, just give me back the apple…I'm only offering you an alternative….and I do have your best interest at heart…."

When she sneered contemptuously at his statement, he felt compelled to add:

"What? It's the truth and you know it! And if you were genuinely inclined to believe for even one split second that I'll just keep my hands in my pockets while you play Hara-kiri Redemption with those pale skinned savages, you either forgot who you had been dealing with all this time or you must have lost some marbles during that petty fight with Odin! "

"Does it even matter to you what I feel? Huh Ares? You always go on and on about how precious and important I am to you, how different I am from all those worthless sluts that you screwed across eons, bragging from Greece to India and back about how utterly gifted and intelligent I am to any second hand God that crosses your path….Well prove it Gods damn it! Prove it! Show me that you really care! You fucking Bastard I've never asked you for anything in my life! Never! Well I'm asking now! Bring Gabrielle back, and just let me do what I have to do…..It might not matter to you, but it does to me….Please….." she finally whispered on the lowest of notes, as if the God wasn't even meant to hear it….

Despite her dangerously uninspired strategy- her previous yells only managing to push the wrong buttons again-irritating him even more- the cocky, self conceited Olympian seemed to actually give her unusually straightforward but spicy plea some thought, leaving aside the fact that every word of her fiery reproach was meant to burn worse than Tartarus.

Still, his decision proved to be as impersonal as any of the ones he frequently took on the battlefield.

"It's not an option. Sorry Hun….I hate to burst your bubble, but that's uh…that's not negotiable…."

"My life is not an object Ares! My freedom is not something that you can just come and claim whenever you feel like it! "

"No it's not….That's why you should learn to value it more!"

"If I do this…..if I eat this apple…..Ares you're as good as dead to me….I'll hate you for the rest of eternity….."

"I think I can live with that…."

"Can you…?"

"Yeah….Knowing that you're alive sure beats visiting a rotten tomb each year, mourning you until the end of time….So eat that fucking apple already and let's get this done with or I swear it on the blood of Chronos, I will turn the Bard to ashes….!"

And that's when it finally happened….so fast and yet so slow, as if for a few moments there was no time to measure the seconds and the minutes passing by…..

Eyes closed, tears streaming down her face like rivers, she obeyed her God's command, just like she always had…..

In less than a blink her entire complexion had changed. She was literally glowing and her eyes' natural azure color had intensified even more, as if two bright sapphires had artistically taken the place of her irides…..Her hair was longer too…and darker, and thicker….

She was of an indescribable beauty….Absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking and what else….

"Wow! Now that's what I was talking about!" Ares couldn't help exclaiming, licking his lips in excitement, totally mesmerized by the amazing transformation he had just witnessed.

"Bring her back….." she coldly ordered, without bothering to at least glance at him.

A snap of the Olympian's fingers was all the antidote the Bard needed. She immediately took a deep enough breath as to last her a lifetime.

"Xena? Wha….what happened? Sweet Gaia, my body hurts as if I had been run over by a war wagon…."

"You kinda were…" the Warrior Princess rushed to add, helping her friend get up. "You probably missed the hit in the head…"

"What hit in the head?" Gabrielle inquired, rubbing her temples as if trying to remember at least some of the details.

"One of Odin's soldiers, took you by surprise…."Xena muttered in a grave voice.

"He did…?"

"Well….he should have hit harder if you ask me…"Ares joined the conversation in his old satirical style.

"Well nobody's asking!" the raven Warrior bit back in revolt, visibly affected by the stupidity of his comment.

"Ares?! " Gabrielle inquired incredulously, finally realizing that they were not on the filed any more. " Where are we Xena? How did we get here?" she started the interrogatory, but as soon as she took a good look at her friend, a whole series of new, impossible to answer questions popped into her Blonde head.

"Xena? What happened to you? You're….changed…..somehow…."

"We're in Olympus….Ares brought you here to …heal you….Changed? What are you talking about? "

"I don't know….I can't tell….Is your hair…longer?"

"How could my hair be longer….? Are you ok Gabrielle? "

"I don't know…." the Bard finally had to admit, rubbing her eyes with the tip of her fingers in the vain attempt to clear her vision"

"And your skin…is…."

"You need some rest…." the Warrior Princess cleverly suggested, caressing her face, and smiling widely at her.

"I just might….Did I hear you correctly though? Did you say that Ares healed me?!"

"Yeah, call me the good Samaritan. " the War God hissed while taking a seat back on his throne.

"This is weird…." the words left the Blonde Bard's mouth as soon as her brain decoded the Olympian's message. " Well thanks….I guess…."

"Yeah yeah yeah….Just do me a favor and don't linger too much around here Blondie or I might end up with an allergy or something ... I mean Xena….she can make camp here for all that I care, I even have a throne waiting for her but you…go write some scrolls into the woods or something…"

"Let's go Gabrielle…." the unprecedentedly slashing order cut him off, making the Bard herself stare at her in surprise.

They both began walking though, heading for the doors.

"_Xena…dinner tonight. Seven a clock. Don't keep me waiting." _Ares playfully announced in her mind as soon as the distance between them was big enough to make any immediate confrontation impossible.

"Go fuck yourself….!" she spitted out loudly, leaving her friend literally speechless.

"_No need, I have you for that_. _And Xe….choose something fancy to wear…..I wanna take you somewhere special….."_

Hearing his last phrase, the Warrior Princess just stopped dead in her tracks and looked over her shoulder at him. There was no trace of irony in his eyes…He was damn serious about it….

Despite herself, still profoundly revolved by the rudeness of his totally inappropriate comment and pretty pissed about his sick nerve to even dare dream about something like that , she just smiled discreetly her acceptance- such a faint smile that one could barely notice it….But he did….he did…..

He smiled back, the obvious hardness of his face melting for a couple of seconds under the effect of those dazzling gorgeous lips that were now temptingly stretching in the form of am equally charming smile.

"…_A few more days, and the tension would vanish"_ he said to himself , silently hoping that she would miraculously end up seeing things his way…..

By the time he finished that thought though, Xena's expression was blank again.

"_Damn woman! You are indeed something else aren't you?" _he whispered to her through their special connection while gazing lustfully at her new, immortal body.

She just turned her gaze towards Gabrielle, explicitly ignoring him. Next thing she knew, both her and the Bard were back in the mortal plane.

Believe it or not, hours later, while the talkative Blonde was feverishly doing her number, blabbering about the brave , noble Beowulf and about Odin's shameful defeat , for the first time in years, the Warrior Princess' mind was focused on what to wear….

XXX

It was past sunset when her fingers delicately touched the War God's warm hand. His eyes were firmly fixed on the cleavage of that illegally sexy strapless red lace dress….

"I'm glad you could make it…."

"I'm here to talk about Japa."

"Are you willing to listen to me?"

"Yes"

"Good girl…Than everything will turn out just fine…."

**THE END**

**As always, I want to thank all those who have shown interest in my work. So...thanks guys! Hope to have you reading my following story too :)**


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